Kelsey Doane had to be reminded of a few things, like using her blinkers, watching the speed limit, checking her mirrors and stopping at the white line at stop signs.

But for a first-time driver like 15-year-old Doane, the reminder her driving instructor kept repeating wasn’t about keeping the car closer to the yellow line or keeping her eyes on the road. It was to relax.

“That first hour is all about getting rid of the jitters,” said driving instructor Paul Levesque, and Doane was no different.

Often sitting rigidly upright on the edge of her seat, Doane practiced turns, maintaining a constant speed and even made a first attempt at parallel parking. Through it all, Levesque sustained a stream of calm and encouraging words while keeping a hand ready to steady the wheel and a foot near his passenger-side brake, just in case. Levesque has had his share of close calls, but so far no accidents.

This was the first of 10 hours Doane will spend with Levesque. After that, her parents will be in charge for the required 35 hours she must log before applying for a license-testing date. According to a recent study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, license restrictions for young drivers have reduced fatal accidents involving 16-year-olds by 11 percent.

Maine imposes a number of requirements and restrictions on young drivers. To get a learner’s permit, drivers must be 15 1/2, and to get an intermediate license they must be at least 16, with three months of driving on a permit. Once teenagers have their intermediate licenses, they can only drive with family for six months, and can only drive certain hours at night. To get a full license without restrictions, drivers must be at least 17.

Doane, entering her junior year at Scarborough High School, is just at the beginning, still taking her required classes while starting to drive with Levesque.

“It was so much fun,” said Doane after successfully completing her first hour on the road. “It was kind of a rush. I’m definitely excited about driving, to finally get away from the house a little bit and have my own space.”

Though there was more excitement than fear, Doane was a little nervous about driving with other cars on the road.

“It was a little scary,” she said. “You don’t know what other drivers will do.”

Doane’s father, Eric Doane, shares his daughter’s fears of the unknown.

“It’s a scary feeling,” he said. “I think all kids from 16 to 18 will have some fender benders, some bumps and bruises, but it’s the big accidents that are the scary things.”

As for the state-imposed restrictions, he believes they are a smart idea.

“I think that they’re good,” he said. “What everyone wants is to get our kids on the road, but safely.”

For his daughter, the restrictions are annoying, especially the family-passengers-only and night-driving rules, but generally she agrees. As for talking on a cell phone while driving, Doane thinks that practice should be banned for all drivers, not just teenagers.

Doane still has a while to go before having to worry about license restrictions, and until her dad has to worry about her – and the neighbors.

“My dad always said he’s going to post the neighborhood,” said Doane, “to warn everyone to keep small animals and children inside.”

Kelsey Doane just spent her first hour behind the wheel. Though she was surprised by how much concentration it takes to drive, she liked the experience. Driving instructor Paul Levesque from Scarborough’s Best Way Driving took Kelsey Doane out on the road for the first time. For Levesque, the first drive is all about helping the student calm nerves caused by fear of the unknown.