Sophomore year is when the majority of students get their driver’s licenses.

It can be a scary time for some and exciting for others, but usually a mix of both.

Driver’s education teacher Joseph Krodel gives his top three tips for new student drivers.

“I would say get plenty of practice behind the wheel, make sure you are comfortable with how to actually operate a vehicle before you put yourself in a tricky situations like cities and things like that and cut down on every distraction possible,” said Krodel.

Sophomore Nadia Mock has had her license for one month, and she made sure to prepare herself for the test.

“I made sure to do the driver’s ed. course at the school, even though it was long and sometimes boring, it did help because I actually did learn some things, and it helped ease my driving nerves,” said Mock. “I also got the booklet that you can get for the test, and I read through that a little bit before I got my permit, and then I did the in-car driving with Mr. Truscott.”

Krodel explains how his driver’s ed. class is designed to prepare students for different situations they may encounter while driving.

“Hopefully this class helps student drivers by giving them a foundation to work off of. This is kind of all the pre-driving knowledge, we go over everything from the foundations of effective driving to working through different scenarios that they will encounter, to how to simply operate a vehicle in every possible situation,” said Krodel. “I like to look at this as the backbone of giving them all the knowledge needed for when they’re in the situation, so they don’t have to think as deeply or take as long to process through something in critical situations, and hopefully manage their risk more effectively.”

Sophomore Saige McKenzie got her license two months ago, and admits part of the test made her nervous, as well as driving alone.

“I was nervous for parallel parking because I was pretty good at it during the practice, but then during the test I messed up a little bit, other than that I wasn’t nervous,” said McKenzie. “Big intersections do scare me because there’s just a lot of cars, and some people do not know how to drive, so that’s a little scary sometimes, and late at night when the deer are running on the roads can be stressful.”

Mock talks about how it can feel weird when driving alone at first.

“It was very strange. I knew I was qualified to drive because I got my license, but it was a strange feeling, and I was somewhat anxious,” said Mock.

Krodel advises students to always be as safe as possible when driving.

“It’s an exciting time; it’s a fun time. I just offer the advice of being safe and making wise decisions. That’s really what it comes down to. Do your best to manage risk on the roadway and look out for other people,” said Krodel.