Driving in the suburbs entails maneuvering through several lanes, long highways, high speed limits and often, streets with no sidewalks. Driving in NYC, however, is a stark contrast: few, thin lanes with low speed limits stretch across the city as jaywalkers who have a lot of trust in drivers’ ability to break fast scatter across them.
Learning how to drive is often expected in suburban areas. Since it is the main way of travel, it is almost mandatory. However, in New York City, where the main way of travel is by MTA, driving is not a priority.
So why would a city kid bother to learn? It takes time, money and a great deal of skill.
Senior Nabilat Kuta plans on learning to drive but has some hesitations about embarking on this in the city.
“I think driving in general is kinda scary because you have to trust that everybody on the road is gonna do their job to make sure everyone is safe, and it’s worse… especially in New York where there’s so many crazy people,” said Kuta.
P.E. and health teacher Tedi Schaffer grew up in suburban Long Island, and therefore had a very different experience with driving.
“In the suburbs it’s different because everybody wants to get their license right away… we don’t walk and we don’t have as much access to public transportation,” she said. “It was almost like a rite of passage… it was just a known thing that I was gonna get my license.”
She pointed out not just the difference in culture but also in the literal manner of driving.
“Driving in the city is definitely more challenging than driving in the suburbs, just because there’s always traffic and you have to be aggressive,” said Schaffer. She does not own a car.
Schaffer got her permit at 16 and license at 17; she was on the road as soon as she was eligible.
She now spends more time in NYC and, like many others, sees reasons not to bother driving here. Many think it’s less convenient than utilizing public transport. They might speak of the frights encountered in the subway, but at the end of the day, it still gets them from point A to point B (even if that means hopping over a rat).
“We’re lucky that we’re, like, the only city in America that has good public transportation,” said senior Margaret Macdonald, who plans on learning to drive in the near future. “Yeah, it’s dirty and there’s weird people but… you can get wherever you need to get in a timely fashion.”
She also said driving doesn’t save much time “unless you’re going to another borough.”
She isn’t the only Baruchian who doesn’t see a need for driving in NYC.
“There’s really no point in having a car unless you go outside the city a lot,” said junior Ariel Amona.
There is also the matter of vehicle ownership being inconvenient. Many find parking to be a huge difficulty, especially in Manhattan.
While many point out reasons to not learn, they also cite benefits of learning to drive in high school.
“I [want to] become more independent,” said senior Mikaela Phillip, who is learning to drive in her family’s Toyota on the weekends.
For lots of students, this factor is a key benefit of being able to drive – having control of where one goes can bring much comfort, especially for those soon going to college.
Senior Ava Walters said she wants to be able to drive herself when she is in university and finds it nice to travel places without having to rely on anyone.
Senior Kat Valentine hopes to drive themself to thrift stores, showcasing a fun side to this independence, too – it’s not just about driving to class.
There is also the factor of convenience. Cities are notorious for traffic, but the MTA also isn’t always reliable. (…Flashback to late September when half the school had to find a different route to get home due to flooding.)
This issue with the metro is especially relevant to those who live outside of Manhattan, like senior Annie Mei, who lives in Brooklyn. She understands those who remain in Manhattan may not have a need to drive, but she is in a different situation.
“Parking’s hard in New York. But I have a place to park,” said Mei, who plans to begin learning to drive after college applications are done with.
There is also the privilege of being able to take your friends and family places only accessible by car.
Senior Sive O’Keeffe said she is aware many students in NYC are unlikely to learn how to drive. However, she has gotten her license with the intention of going on different trips with her friends. College trips, beach trips, road trips – all the trips.
“If you’re going a long distance, it’s nice for the convenience,” Schaffer said.
There is an array of rewards for attaining a license, but how does a student go about obtaining one? The first step is to get a permit.
When senior Nicholas Williams went to get his state ID, he encountered a book of rules one needs to know to get their permit. Since then, he has been studying to take the exam.
After acquiring this card, it becomes time to get behind the wheel for a requirement of 50 hours.
Phillip, who is learning in her family’s car, has been cruising through her neighborhood – it’s residential and therefore convenient for a beginner. Though she feels NYC is congested, she also recognizes she needs to learn to drive in all settings, leading her to want to practice more in the city later on.
Amona got his permit over the summer and is learning to drive in the city with an instructor and his mother in his family’s 2019 Jeep Cherokee.
He doesn’t find city driving too difficult but notices a difference in driving outside of NYC, calling it “far more straightforward.”
Many students learn primarily from instructors. This way, they don’t need their own car for practice or for the road test. There is also an emergency break in the companies’ vehicles on the passenger side.
O’Keeffe’s mother found her instructor in the New York Times. O’Keeffe said she was prepared for the road test after two months of practice but completed extra lessons to really feel confident. She practiced driving all around the city, including on the highway.
Learning with a parent is also a popular strategy. Senior Gwynnie Cook was taught to drive by her parents during her junior year and passed her road test.
Taking the exam can be intimidating.
“There’s something about the pressure of knowing that if you don’t execute these very simple things perfectly you’re gonna fail,” said O’Keeffe, who successfully took the test in February.
The NY road test has a point system. If you accumulate 30 points or over, you fail. Each error gives you a different amount of points and some actions lead to an automatic fail.
For instance, if you don’t use your turn signal, five points are added. If you don’t fully stop at a stop sign, however, you fail on the spot. Hitting a pedestrian is also considered an automatic fail.
Taking the exam can be difficult and nerve-wracking as it closely analyzes a new driver. It usually lasts between five and 15 minutes.
“I remember shaking [because] I was so nervous,” said Schaffer, who passed on her first attempt.
Valentine said they find cars terrifying, even declaring they hate them, but they’re still planning on learning to drive. They said they feel like there is no choice but to do so since a vehicle is needed to get around most areas in America.
Mei touched on the nerves behind this as well.
“I feel like it’s gonna be really stressful if you go anywhere where it’s full of experienced drivers, and you’re the only one who’s learning,” she said.
Though New York City is walkable, many Baruchians have put in the time and effort into obtaining a license. Despite the struggle of having to start driving in a city known for chaos, these students show they’re driven anyways.
Though driving for the first time can be daunting, it brings a lot of excitement to students. A new sense of freedom, new opportunities and, for Walters, another potential benefit.
“I want to get a Dodge Challenger.”
