My niece Zoey, who is currently in the second semester of her eighth-grade year, turned thirteen in August (!?). You can only imagine how shocked she was when I told her the other day that, if she so chooses, she may be driving in two years. Kid, slow down those clocks!
Getting a driver’s license and permit is one of the most significant life milestones for a young adult. It was really simple to go on the road when I turned sixteen in 1991. In Kentucky, obtaining a driver’s license required only passing the written permit exam, waiting a month, and passing the road test with a minimum score of 80 percent.
You now receive your learner’s permit after passing a written and vision exam. The learner’s permit is valid for 180 days or six months, during which they must log 60 practice hours, 10 of which must be done at night. The road test comes next, but if you pass, you receive an intermediate license. After that, you must wait another 180 days and finish a mandatory driver’s education course. Driving is prohibited between midnight and six in the morning for the first two phases.
During the first week of the Kentucky Legislative Session in 2025, a bill to reduce the learner’s permit age to 15 was introduced. Whoa. A permit can be obtained at the age of 15 in nearly all of our border states; in Ohio and Virginia, the minimum age is 15 years and 6 months. Parents have the option to wait until their children are 16 years old or older to obtain a learner’s permit, according to the representatives who introduced the bill.
The next meeting of the Kentucky House and Senate as a whole is scheduled for February 4th.
