It used to be that turning 16 meant you could get a license and start driving all your friends to school. No longer. Most states, figuring out that a newly licensed teen driver is more at-risk for accidents, now have a graduated teen driver program.

A graduated license program is a series of steps with increasing freedom, where first teens earn a provisional license or learners permit through learning the basics in a driver education program. These drivers ed programs are either offered in a classroom, or, increasingly, in a convenient online classroom (yep, many states accept these driver ed online programs). Teens then get a drivers license allowing them to drive alone, but with a year’s worth of conditions. This applies even if you passed drivers education and the written test.

Restrictions for the first twelve months of driving solo vary depending on the state. In California, teens with new licenses not allowed to cart around passengers under the age of 20, unless their parent or guardian is with them. Teens are also not allowed to drive around between the hours of 11 pm and 5 am, the times when driving tends to be most dangerous. The restrictions do end after 12 months, in most states, or when you turn 18. 

Don’t worry about the restrictions too much at this point; the DMV will not change the rules for you. Worry instead about taking a long practice test so you’ll pass the written test. There are many drivers ed online programs now offering tests just like the one you'll take in real life, only these tell you when you're wrong, so you can learn the right answer. Take one with a hundred questions, if you can; this will make you more aware of the rules of the road and better at taking the test.