East Islip 10th grader Dylan Baranek said he was so eager to drive that he went right to the DMV on his 16th birthday back in December.
"I went and got my permit that day and signed up for driver's ed that night," Dylan said. "I was like, I'm gonna have everything done, I'll be able to get my license on time, everything will be done, in advance."
But then the coronavirus outbreak happened and the resulting restrictions canceled all driver's ed classes and road tests.
Parents in New York can certify that their child has completed 50 hours of driving needed for a road test.
Dylan said it's the five hours of required classroom instruction that's at issue.
"We were roughly at around 60% and New York State said you have to be at 75% to finish it online," Dylan said.
Not allowing students to finish the classroom portion online has led to a large backlog of both classes and road tests.
The state has not said when the DMV will reopen or how it will handle the logjam once it is.
MORE CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 COVERAGE
COVID-19 Help, Information. Stimulus and Business Updates
[Ads /]
UPDATES
New York state
New Jersey
New York City
Long Island
Connecticut
Grieving the lost: Tri-State residents who have died
[Ads /]
REOPENING INFORMATION
What's Open, What's Closed
Reopening New York State
Reopening New Jersey
Reopening Connecticut
[Ads /]
RELATED INFORMATION
Share your coronavirus story with Eyewitness News
Stimulus check scams and other coronavirus hoaxes
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on coronavirus
Total count of NYC, Long Island COVID-19 cases based on patient address