Drivers Ed Ahhhhhhh!

[sksjasams]

When my DS17 was ready for driver's ed, I made the decision that he would take the classroom portion in person rather than online. I felt the in person interaction with a teacher, who is able to give real life examples and answer questions from a classroom full of kids would be more valuable.

Plus, I knew online driver's ed would be one more thing I would need to constantly be on his back about working on and finishing. I know two people whose kids took it online and it dragged on way longer than it needed to. Of course, that totally depends on the kid.

Maybe you can look around for another driving school with better time options. I would not have wanted to do the one in the evening. We found a class that was a couple hours every Saturday and Sunday. It was kind of a pain, but really nice not to add anything to the schedule during the week.

 

[Hikergirl]

My dd took driver's ed through school, instruction time was once a week, driving time once a week for 3 months. She would have done the instruction part online if it was offered. The only reason she took driver's ed is so she could park at the school her senior year.

 

[willowsnn3]

My state requires 30 hours in the classroom (or online) plus 40 hours of drive time IF they want to get their license at 16. The drive time has to logged and signed by parent. OR they can do the 30 hour class & 6 hours of drive time with a state certified driving instructor and forego the 40 hour drive time. If they wait til age 17 they don't have to take any training.

I work for a driving school and I can tell you the "in classroom" is much better than the online course.

Most parent training is probably ok, but then alot of parents don't know the laws or how to drive themselves. Our defensive driving class is full every weekend with proof of that fact, lol.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

My DD is in the middle of on-line driver's ed right now. We're in Colorado, and you can get your permit at 15 if you've taken driver's ed, then get your license 12 months later if you've completed 80 hours of practice driving with at least 10 of those being at night. If you don't take driver's ed, you can get your permit at 15 1/2, you have to pass the permit test, so you can't get your license until 16 1/2 without it.

All driver's ed is done through private companies, and most offer it as part of a package with the classroom training coupled with 6 or 8 hours of driving instruction which they recommend that you space out over the 12 months of the permit.

Since the state requirement is that you have the 30 hours of classroom training, the on-line course is timed, so while my DD can read a slide in all of 30 seconds, she essentially has to sit on that slide while the narrator very slowly reads the text.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Yep - another state where it's required to get your license. Here you either take it during the school year (all classroom instruction and driving time are during school time) or take a class with a private company. Private company is more expensive, but quicker and doesn't take away from a course you can take in HS.

My state is like this too. No online courses are allowed. DS took the classroom part and behind the wheel through a private company. DD took both at her high school, but we did have to pay something for behind the wheel for her.

 

[Nettester]

DD could have taken the course at 15, but we waited until she was 16 because we didn't think she was ready. We live in a city with good transit, so there was no need to rush it. Most kids take the community ed after school course, but my DD goes to a charter school that gets out later, so she took a course that was 3 hours every Saturday morning for a few months.

 

[robinb]

My DD took an online class and it was a disaster. First of all, she futzed around and didn't do it for the longest time. Then, once she buckled down and started to take the class at the end of the summer her instructor took most of the month of August off. She only graded every 5-10 days and my DD had to make changes and resubmit some assignments. Then, my DD had to wait until she completely finished the class and turned her book back into the company before they sent the form so she could take the test for her permit. Of course, we also had to wait until her instructor logged in and marked her class as complete. In comparison, the kids who took the class in the classroom were able to take the permit test only a couple of weeks into the class. We chose the online class in the spring since my DD swims just about every day and classroom work after school was not an option. Of course, if I knew that she was going to procrastinate until mid-Summer I would have signed her up for a classroom class over the summer when she had more time.

 

[xlsm]

I have a long way to go before my kids are ready for this, but I had to read it because I'm fascinated by how it works in other areas.
Where I grew up (small town in Missouri), driver's ed was a semester class at school. Until just a few years ago, I'd always assumed it was the same everywhere. Permits were issued at 15.5 if you passed a written test, and driver's license at 16. My mom would NEVER drive with me, so the first time I ever sat behind the wheel was with the assistant football coach riding shotgun. We practiced on dirt roads outside of town. It was an elective class, but pretty much everyone took it.

I can't imagine not wanting to drive at 16! My sister only got her license last summer...she was 21! She failed the test so many times in Kansas and Missouri, I'm surprised there isn't a warning label by her name when it comes up in the system, LOL!! She decided to buckle down and get it after she found out she was expecting (and after my 16 year old cousin passed her test!).
She used to watch our younger sister (10) during the days...I told her it was a safety issue. What if something happened and she needed to get somewhere in hurry? You have to be able to be independent and take care of yourself. She relied on her husband to take her places...I couldn't handle having to rely on someone else like that.

I do realize that attitude is regional, and in busier places, driving early isn't the norm. Where we live now, driving on the interstate is part of life, and streets in town can be incredibly busy throughout the day - thinking of my kids out there on the road is terrifying! My oldest likes to say, "Only a few more years,mom!" because he knows it gets to me. My youngest has already told me he's afraid of driving, and will just let me cart him around forever, LOL!!

Good luck to your family in making the decision. If I was in the same situation, I'd advocate for classroom learning vs. internet courses, and find a way to work out the travel to and from.

 

[usnuzuloose]

Oh boy, it has been so many years, I can't recall how many hours they required for driving. I was 15 1/2 when I got my permit. I drove a lot in an empty parking lot to start. Learned to drive a stick. I still enjoy driving with a stick. I don't know how online would really do any good.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We opted for classroom Driver's Ed. Because we felt like it would be a much more rounded experience. We didn't do it until our kids were 16 and we spend time teaching them to drive first so they go into it with some experience.

My son is now 20 and says he was glad we did it that way.

I wanted to add that our Driver's Ed required that the students had their permits before they could take it. I don't know if that's different in other areas.

 

[robinb]

We opted for classroom Driver's Ed. Because we felt like it would be a much more rounded experience. We didn't do it until our kids were 16 and we spend time teaching them to drive first so they go into it with some experience.

My son is now 20 and says he was glad we did it that way.

In Wisconsin you can't drive without a permit and you can't get a permit without taking a class.

 

[ZachnElli]

Driver's ed is not required in my state. So all driver's ed classes are private companies. My DD is taking driver's ed right now, she turned 17 in January. She is the oldest in her class and she told me some of the kids don't have their permits yet so they can't do the driving portion of the class, which she thought was a waste of their parent's money, lol. The company she is taking it from is certified with the dmv and they will do her actual license and driving test so all she'll have to do when done with the class (if she passes!) is take the certificate to the dmv and get her license.

 

[mom2rtk]

I have a long way to go before my kids are ready for this, but I had to read it because I'm fascinated by how it works in other areas.
Where I grew up (small town in Missouri), driver's ed was a semester class at school. Until just a few years ago, I'd always assumed it was the same everywhere. Permits were issued at 15.5 if you passed a written test, and driver's license at 16. My mom would NEVER drive with me, so the first time I ever sat behind the wheel was with the assistant football coach riding shotgun. We practiced on dirt roads outside of town. It was an elective class, but pretty much everyone took it.

I can't imagine not wanting to drive at 16! My sister only got her license last summer...she was 21! She failed the test so many times in Kansas and Missouri, I'm surprised there isn't a warning label by her name when it comes up in the system, LOL!! She decided to buckle down and get it after she found out she was expecting (and after my 16 year old cousin passed her test!).
She used to watch our younger sister (10) during the days...I told her it was a safety issue. What if something happened and she needed to get somewhere in hurry? You have to be able to be independent and take care of yourself. She relied on her husband to take her places...I couldn't handle having to rely on someone else like that.

I do realize that attitude is regional, and in busier places, driving early isn't the norm. Where we live now, driving on the interstate is part of life, and streets in town can be incredibly busy throughout the day - thinking of my kids out there on the road is terrifying! My oldest likes to say, "Only a few more years,mom!" because he knows it gets to me. My youngest has already told me he's afraid of driving, and will just let me cart him around forever, LOL!!

Good luck to your family in making the decision. If I was in the same situation, I'd advocate for classroom learning vs. internet courses, and find a way to work out the travel to and from.

That's interesting. We live in Missouri and my kids have been able to get permits on their 15th birthdays.

As for the desire to drive young, that's a lot more about differences in kids' personalities than anything else. 2 of our 3 kids couldn't wait. The other had to be dragged into it and finally got his license a few days shy of needing to start commuting to a college 30 minutes away at age 18.

Some of the kids' friends have delayed because the parents did not want to pay the higher insurance premiums. My son's 20 year old friend still doesn't have one.

It's really all over the place.

After a variety of experiences though, I do find myself advocating for sooner rather than later so you can supervise their driving experience longer before sending them out in the world. It was way too stressful for all of us watching the 18 year old head out on his own with relatively little experience.

 

[runwad]

My son is 15 1/2 today and can get his permit. We are going tomorrow. I haven't seen him crack a book to study so I hope he flunks and can't get it! But he's a smart kid so I'm sure he'll pass.

He wants to take the class this summer before football starts so he'll be all done and ready to take his drivers test when he turns 16 in September. No way would I let him take an online class. I want him in the classroom learning! And I'm going to try to stall as long as I can on him actually getting his license.

I don't relish adding him to the insurance when he turns 16, ugh.

 

[xlsm]

That's interesting. We live in Missouri and my kids have been able to get permits on their 15th birthdays.

As for the desire to drive young, that's a lot more about differences in kids' personalities than anything else. 2 of our 3 kids couldn't wait. The other had to be dragged into it and finally got his license a few days shy of needing to start commuting to a college 30 minutes away at age 18.

Some of the kids' friends have delayed because the parents did not want to pay the higher insurance premiums. My son's 20 year old friend still doesn't have one.

It's really all over the place.

After a variety of experiences though, I do find myself advocating for sooner rather than later so you can supervise their driving experience longer before sending them out in the world. It was way too stressful for all of us watching the 18 year old head out on his own with relatively little experience.

You're right - personality plays a large role. So does living in a town of less than 10,000 in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks! Where I'm from, a lot of kids were driving on the farm since they were old enough to see over the steering wheel, and the rest of us just wanted a way to escape
And at the time I got my license,many years ago, 15 and a half was the age for permits (the graduated license law was not in effect at that time in Missouri, which now allows for a beginner to be 15). Everyone had a "when I turn 15.5" countdown, and I marked that magical August day on the calendar like it was second Christmas, passed my written permit test...then didn't end up getting my license until the May after I turned 16 in February, because I had to take driver's ed second semester (and my mom refused to drive with me...well, she did once because my driver's ed teacher told the parents to let us practice, and it ended with me crying hysterically in a grocery store parking lot because she wouldn't stop shouting at me).

We no longer live in Missouri, and the beginning age where we are now is 14 - that blows my mind (we won't be letting the kids start then!).

I can imagine the stress of watching your 18 year old drive away on his commute. I do admire people being self-aware enough to know when they're ready to take certain steps in life, but I agree with you on starting sooner and having an opportunity to help your child build stronger skills before they head off on their own. I tell my boys, you don't HAVE TO drive, but you have to KNOW HOW to drive. (My mother wouldn't allow me to be in the car with any driving friends before having a license of my own. At the time, it was a huge pain, but I always understood why ) I'm curious to see how they actually feel when the time comes, they might want to wait, too.

Driving early was my expected norm...
That's why things like this are fascinating - we all have different life experiences, different perceptions, and different ideas of what constitutes "normal". It's interesting to see how things vary around the country (even in different places in the same state!), and how different families approach the subject.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I took driver's ed at a YMCA - my school offered it but you had to be 15 by January 1 of the school year and since I skipped a grade in earlier years, I was about a month too young for that deadline during my sophomore year. I could have waited until junior year, but I already had a part-time job (started right after I turned 14, which was legal in my home state with a ton of restrictions) and my parents were eager to get me a license so they could stop driving me to work. (The town had crappy public transit, and we lived in a rural area about 30 minutes away from my school and work anyhow.)

We had an option to do part of the classroom work online but this was in the dark ages before broadband internet was ubiquitous, and our home internet wasn't good enough to do it, so I did it in person. Honestly, the only thing I actively remember from it was during the instructor-accompanied driving hours when we were on a local highway and a seagull flew directly into the windshield of the car while I was doing 55.

The winter after I got my license, my father took me on a trip to where he grew up in upper Michigan and taught me to drive on ice by taking me out on a frozen lake in a pickup truck. He also taught me to drive a stick shift (I'd never willingly buy a car with one) and how to change a flat tire (I have AAA roadside assistance) and how to change my own oil (which I don't do).

 

[newbie2disney]

Such a difference across the states! My DD & DS were able to get a driving permit the day they turned 14 (after passing a written exam). They took driver's ed offered through the school the following month. In our school district they are allowed a school permit to drive to school and school activities at 14.5 years old if they have passed driver's ed and live more than a mile from our high school. This is in Iowa.

 

[xlxo]

I'm a firm believer of driver's education at a quality establishment. The defensive driving skills has given me an accident free record.

 

[Aliceacc]

My 17 year old son has his license, and his sister just turned 16; we're headed to DMV as soon as we can get there.

As a parent, I would have strong reservations about the online course. I don't want my kids to be able to cut any corners when it comes to something as important as driver's ed. I want them to see every single video, hear every single story, be part of every conversation. I want them learning all the small details I may have forgotten along the way. I don't want them on their phones while the computer plays the infamous "Last Prom" video because they think it's not important.

When she does get her permit, we'll do it the same way we did with my son. We'll start with lots of time in an empty parking lot. Then we'll move on to some quiet, wide streets we found with him, and work our way up to the parkway. When my son first started the road classes, the teacher realized he had already had some time behind the wheel and gave him more street time, as opposed to the parking lot some of his carmates started with.

I figure that I have a very tiny window of time to change my child from a novice to a good driver. The number of hours mandated by the state simply isn't enough time for that. So I'm getting him/her behind the wheel every chance I can. Little things like "there's no such thing as ONE kid on a bike or with a ball" will be drilled into their heads. And comments like "See that guy coming up in the next lane? He's probably going to cut in front of you, so leave lots of room between you and the other car."

And, as others have mentioned, we'll do it in rain and snow and fog and every sort of bad weather we can find. The first time it snows, we'll go back to that parking lot and practice hitting the brakes hard. No one knows what it really means to "steer into the skid" until they have to do it, and I don't want that first experience to be on the LIE alone.

 

[aprilgail]

So how is it actually drivers ed if its just an online course- how do they drive in a car then and practice?? my daughter is taking drivers ed in school right now, it costs 450.00 if you want to take it- its every Monday and Tuesday. Monday is the class room for an hour and a half and Tuesday is in the car driving for an our and a half- it runs Feb-June. I would not feel comfortable with just an online course and no driving time.