Montana Mondays: Young Drivers?

New! I'm going to start a Monday series today on Montana. Every Monday from now on you'll get something about Montana. If you have a special request, please feel free to send it in through the comments or email. I will do everything in my power to satisfy your curiosity about my great state :-)

First question: Don't people in Montana get to drive early?

Answer: We used to ;-) But the law changed on my 6th kid. Five of our kids could legally drive at 14 1/2 because of the farming and ranching. In fact, many kids here grew up driving a truck from elementary age for haying.

However as of a couple years ago, it's standardized with most of the rest of the country at 16. Driver's Ed is 15, but we have the graduated license program that includes parental supervision and a quite intense schedule of practice hours including rules for how many people can be in the car with the newbie driver.

This little guy? He's just wishing. Jude won't be able to drive for a long time :-) He's pure Montana though with his eye out for deer!