05 Oct 2022 | 5 mins

We’ve all been there, well, at least I have. 18 in a few days, almost out of high school, ready for your life to start until you realise, damn, I have no driving hours (or seven in my case). To top it off, you suddenly realise all your friends are getting their Ps and you’re the odd one out. Great.

No, really; it’s great! In the moment you might feel like you’re a bit behind the eight ball, but believe me when I say you can make the most of this time, have fun, and still get your driving hours up before uni starts. Here’s your very own how-to guide.

1. Don’t panic

Seriously, don’t panic. It’s not worth it. The immediate reaction is to worry and start catastrophically thinking about all the places you won’t be able to go to, all the parties you’ll miss out on, and the exclusion you’ll face. Take it from me who has been in that very position, you won’t. In fact, there are some real bonuses to your situation including:

a) You can never be the deso driver

b) Your friends become your Uber

It’s basically a chauffeur service to and from your front door with good company both ways. Plus, if your friends ever decide it’s fun to give you crap for your seven hours of driving experience (trust me, they will), just causally remind them that they’re the ones voluntarily paying to drive you around. Job done.

c) You can get your hours up without the guilt

The worst part of having your Ls whilst completing Year 12 is the guilt of giving up valuable time you should have spent ‘studying’ on getting up your hours. You no longer have that problem, you can drive for as long as you like whenever you like without your conscience telling you that your Nature of Biology textbook is sitting waiting for you when you get home with that looming assessment.

2. Cajole your parents

If you’re 18 and have no driving hours it could be due to a number of reasons, but one main one is probably thanks to your parents and the loud and proud: ‘you need to focus on your studies‘. Now that you’ve finished your studies, you have awesome leverage for two causes;

a) It’s super easy to coax your parents into taking you to and from places when you can’t get a lift with a friend. After all, half the reason you don’t have your Ps yet is because they wanted you to focus on your studies, true?

b) It’s even easier to wheedle them into taking you out driving. My favourite line is the: ‘but you promised me after school finishes…’ Works a treat every time.

3. You’re going out, drive there!

Sure, it’s easy to feel a little left out during the summer break when everyone is driving to and from the beach, but use this as your golden ticket! You’ll be surprised at how many times you find yourself going out this summer, and it’s the perfect opportunity to put those coercing skills to use and convince the ‘rents to let you drive wherever you’re off to. Plus if you do the maths, an hour up and back from somewhere every day for three months and you’re already well over the 120-hour requirement, so there’s even some breathing space in there to get them before uni starts. Sweet!

4. Trust yourself

You’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t trust yourself. If you start putting a tonne of pressure on yourself to hurry up and get your license because all your friends have theirs, then it’s likely that you won’t be a good driver yourself. The pressure is completely unnecessary and actually quite counterproductive. The most important thing is that you learn to be the best driver on the roads so that you trust yourself out there in every condition possible, and a mountain of pressure to rush your license will only be counteractive. TRUST YOURSELF, your gut judgement is, generally, always the right one.

5. There is seriously no rush

I repeat, there is seriously no rush. This is probably the hardest bit to come to terms with, but it’s beyond true. Remember that you are you, and there is absolutely no race to getting your Ps. You take as long as you need, they’ll still be there for you when you’re ready. Sure, sometimes you can feel a little left out but if you take your time and do it right, it’ll be all the more rewarding when you do get them in the end.