A new driver in the family

Alex got his G2 license yesterday, which is a somewhat restricted driving permit*, but allows him to take the car out on his own.  He took driver's ed over the summer, and practiced with his father and I.  Yesterday, I picked him up from a subway station after school and drove him to the DriveTest centre where I waited anxiously while he did his test.

We let him quit his partime job at the end of the summer to focus on this last year of high school, so he will need to earn his driving-keep by running errands (for example, taking his brother to karate.)   His insurance is an additional $1000 per year on our policy.  I shudder to think what it would be if he had his own car.   But I'm proud of him for passing the first time, and it's slowly sinking in that, in a year, he will likely not even be living at home anymore.

* Restrictions:

• Zero blood alcohol and working seatbelts for all passengers
• The number of young passengers that teen G2 drivers can carry is limited from midnight to 5 a.m.  For the first six months, G2 drivers 19 or under can carry only one passenger aged 19 or under.  After the first six months, and until the G2 driver earns a full G licence or turns 20, they can carry only three passengers aged 19 or under.