Hi all,
Now that my little sister is 16 years old, she is officially able to drive. Last week, she went to the licensing centre, sat the test and walked away with a Learners Permit. Getting your L’s is a big moment in any Australian teenager’s life so naturally, I know what it’s like to take a step closer to freedom and independence and I am so bloody proud of her. But as much as it is exciting, it also comes with great responsibility.
My sister is going to be driving.
Behind the wheel of a car.
On the road.
In Perth.
*Deep breaths*
Even just thinking about it makes me nervous. Not because I don’t have any faith in my sister’s ability to drive (we’ve been out a couple of times and she’s pretty good for a beginner) but because Perth people are notorious for being bad drivers. I’ve read about it in the newspaper, on the internet, on social media, word of mouth and of course, I’ve witnessed countless incidents of idiotic driving.
It’s a well known fact that Perth drivers don’t know how to use roundabouts, can’t do the speed limit, hog the right lane, tailgate and have no idea how to merge.
And this gives me so much confidence that my sister will be ok on the road.
Not.
Although I’ve taught her the basics this weekend, I seriously hope that she gets a good driving instructor who teaches her the correct way to drive. The last thing Perth needs is another driver on the road who can potentially put other people in danger…
Anyway, moving along! I want to talk about the fact that my sister – who is almost half my age – is now old enough to drive! As much as I am proud of her (like, crazy proud), I feel sad. She’s growing up so fast and sometimes… I don’t want her to. I wish she could stay the little girl who played with barbie dolls, laughed at all my lame jokes and didn’t have a care in the world.
But now? Well, she’s in high-school, taking up ATAR and about to share the road with people from all walks of life. This is alot of responsibility to have. Especially at her age. At least with driving, she can go at her own pace (unlike the school year and exams). I guess it’s one less thing to be stressed out about this year. Which, in my eyes, is a good thing.
She’ll have a longer time frame to complete the 5 steps to becoming a P-Plater. I’m pretty sure I went through 5 steps too, but from my understanding, the only difference now is that they have to complete 50 hours of supervised driving before sitting the practical driving test. I had to complete 25 hours after passing my driving test (which I finished in about 2 weeks), so she’ll have no problem fulfilling that requirement.
I have every faith that she’ll be a good driver. It’s everyone else that I don’t trust.
And that’s coming from someone who’s had their lisence for almost 10 years.
I wish her all the best. She’s going to need it!
Lisey Online 