Getting a Mississippi Driver’s License Now Easier Than Ever
MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – Getting a Mississippi driver’s license is easier than ever.
Driving solo can be as easy as having a parent or guardian sign a form.
Okay, let’s think about it. Do you remember when you got your license and had to spend a certain number of hours behind the wheel with a professional driving instructor? Well, that is no longer the case according to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and it worries some parents. We spoke with Chelle Franks who is a volunteer firefighter in Mantatchie and a mother of two. She says teenagers these days don’t have enough driving experience.
“It absolutely terrifies me. These kids have no experience, ”said Chelle Franks, volunteer firefighter with the Mantachie Fire Department.
Chelle Franks has had her fair share of car accidents during her career as a volunteer firefighter at Mantatchie.
“We had one a few months ago that was here at Mantatchie on 363. The roads were wet and he was flying a little too fast around the turn. He missed a turn and overturned his truck twice and got upside down, stuck and trapped in his vehicle, ”Franks said.
Franks worries about what inexperienced teenage drivers might encounter on the road.
Under new guidelines from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, new drivers are not required to take a test with an MHP soldier driving with them.
If you are 16 years old, you must have a driving license for 12 months, a school attendance form and a waiver of the road test certificate signed by your parents. The waiver says you have had 50 hours of driving training.
“Any parent can go over there and say oh taught them to drive,” Franks said.
If you are 18 or older, you need a valid school attendance form.
The updated departmental guideline eliminating the professional driving instructor is based on Covid Precautions.
“If people can be in the building, like the day I took him (son), – there were 60 to 70 people in that building, waiting and getting their papers – if they can do it and have their mask they can, of course, get in a vehicle and take a driving test with these teens these days, ”Franks said.
Franks’ 18-year-old son recently received his learner’s license and driver’s license on the same day.
She says he’s properly trained for his license but can’t say the same about other drivers.
“They put these children on these roads and highways, without being properly trained, without being properly checked. It puts them and others at risk, ”Franks said.
Franks suggests that teens should volunteer at the Mantatchie Fire Department to understand what first responders go through when responding to a traffic incident, as well as to better understand the dangers of the road and how to be a responsible driver.
