It varies by state, but often you can get some license without professional instruction. Many states have a learner's permit (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learner%27s_permit#United_St...) that allows any over 25 (or even 21) year old with a driver's license to teach you to drive in an unmodified car.
A step up is a provisional license that may (depending on state) allow you to drive certain routes (typically to school or work and back, but also sometimes to do essential shopping) unaccompanied.
That makes some sense in areas where traffic is light and distances large.
I think that, in some states, you even can get a
provisional license without ever having driven a car (you may have had a learner's permit for a certain period, but they don't check whether you actually used it), but of course, that's extremely unlikely to happen.
A step up is a provisional license that may (depending on state) allow you to drive certain routes (typically to school or work and back, but also sometimes to do essential shopping) unaccompanied.
That makes some sense in areas where traffic is light and distances large.
I think that, in some states, you even can get a provisional license without ever having driven a car (you may have had a learner's permit for a certain period, but they don't check whether you actually used it), but of course, that's extremely unlikely to happen.