I got my license today.
Q: but checkeredhat, aren't you in your mid twenties? Shouldn't you have gotten your license when you were like 18?
A:
Yeah. 26. I put it off for a long time. In Ontario, we have three levels to a driver's license. The two learning permit levels are called G1 and G2, the final full license is a G (Specifically, this is how it works for a General license- what 90% of people get. An M is a motorcycle, and there are other letters if you want to drive 18 wheelers, busses, RVs, etc)
You can get your G1 at 16, and it is good for 5 years. For a regular human being this is ample time to level it up to a full license. After one year (or 8 months if you complete an approved Drivers' Ed program), you can get your G2, then one year after that you can get your G.
I got my G1 at 16, then even though I took drivers' ed didn't go for my G2 until I was 17.
Now, a G is the equivalent of a learners permit as I understand it; you can drive as long as someone with a full license is in the front passenger seat. It also means you are not allowed to drive on freeways and have to keep a blood alcohol level of 0.00. A G2 is a step up, you still have to keep a blood alcohol level of 0.0 but you can drive on your own and can drive on the freeway, just not between certain hours. So having a G2 does not inconvenience you. And when you don't have time, money, or access to a car, getting experience on the highway is difficult. So I stuck with my G2. When I was 21 and my license was going to expire, rather than take my G test, I took my G2 again to just give myself 5 more years. This was basically my very last chance to get my full G before I'd have to start back at G1 all over again. Finally I feel a little more like an adult.
in short: