15 year old not interested in driving?

[::Snow_White::]

I absolutely hate driving. I just recently started driving to school, and hardly drove out of town but maybe twice with my mom. I'm very scared of having an accident and I'm always nervous while driving. I hated drivers education. I won't drive to the next town over without my mom with me.

 

[Plannin'Shannon]

Driving is one of the biggest responsibilities there is. You should feel very proud that your child can recognize that he isn't ready yet.

I couldn't agree more.

I was one of the kids who didn't feel ready. I received my learner's permit when I was 16. From then until I was 18, almost 19 years old, I practiced driving until I was ready for the responsibility of the license. Driving made me feel out of control and terrified, and I did not want to be on the road, alone, battling those feelings. The best thing I did was take a defensive driving course. I would highly recommend this for the OP's son.

 

[LukenDC]

I am 36 and have never had a driver's license. Driving does not interest me and I do not want to have to deal with the stress of driving. Your son should understand that if he does not get his driver's license he will most likely need to live in an urban area with good public transportation (I take the subway). He can also get his driver's license at any age if he changes his mind.

 

[Rora]

I got my permit and my license on my birthday as quickly as I could! I LOVE to drive.

OP- I think it's completely normal. So many of my friends in high school didn't get their permit or DL until college or even after. My DFi didn't get his DL til he was probably 18- he had no reason to get it as he didn't have a car and his parents were willing to drive him everywhere.

 

[The Orchid]

I couldn't agree more.

I was one of the kids who didn't feel ready. I received my learner's permit when I was 16. From then until I was 18, almost 19 years old, I practiced driving until I was ready for the responsibility of the license. Driving made me feel out of control and terrified, and I did not want to be on the road, alone, battling those feelings. The best thing I did was take a defensive driving course. I would highly recommend this for the OP's son.

I waited a little longer than normal to get my license too. I wasn't really afraid, but I didn't feel ready. I didn't understand it way back then, but I had ADHD and knew I was prone to being distracted easily. There wasn't much known about such conditions back then, but I knew myself well enough to know that I may not be a very safe driver. So I waited until I was nearly 18 and I have always felt that waiting two years gave me the time to deal with that problem so that I could become a safer driver. And it must have worked because I've never caused an accident.

When a young person says they aren't ready to drive, I tend to feel WAY more confident in their assessments of themselves than of the ones who feel ready when they are fourteen. It shows me that they take that responsibility VERY seriously. And that is a good thing.

 

[debm]

My son is 16.5 and I finally talked him into taking the class. He has to have his permit for 9 months here in Illinois. He did take his test for his permit and I was very relieved he passed---has terrible test taking issues. Anyway....he doesn't want to do the Behind the Wheel portion. He has about 20 minutes experience behind the wheel with me and will ONLY drive when there are NO other cars around anywhere. This was hard for me too at first but like other posters said, in some way I am very glad. He tells me that it is a big responsibility and he doesn't want it. I'm sure we will reach a point where he wants to drive. If he was the opposite and begging for the car every minute I would probably be stressing. So I figure this is a good thing. Reality starts setting in when I picture him out driving by himself and I get nervous. Be glad! Good luck!

 

[NotUrsula]

I got my license when I was 15, which was the norm then (mid-1970's). The state did have learner's permits, but I never got one. We lived on private land that had farm roads, so my cousins and I practiced there all we wanted to; perfectly legal.

The irony is that we didn't have a street-legal car. My mother didn't drive, either, and she hated grocery shopping. In those days of paying by check, I had to get a license to be able to pay at stores using my mother's checks. (The state didn't issue ID-only cards to the non-disabled in those days.) So, I passed my test at 15, got my license, and used it maybe 6-7 times until I was 18, because the only car around was my older sister's family car, and I wasn't insured to drive it on public roads. I re-learned on friend's cars when I was away at college, but didn't actually own a car until I was 25.

 

[torinsmom]

Hmmm....DS does have ADD, so maybe that is why he feels more nervous. Other than his dad having him drive around an empty parking lot, he had not drive at all when he started the driving portion of Drivers Ed. I will definitely respect his decision to not drive, but still want him to get the permit, so he has the option if he changes his mind. I think we are good for a year then; he can either get his license in a year or renew his permit then.