Is Driver's Ed Worth The Cost?

[gemini2727]

Oldest DD starting to drive (God help me, lol) When I was learning, my father took me out to practice, never did Driver's Ed. Is the insurance discount worth the cost of the program (our rate is $560 for a 4 month program.) How much did you actually save in insurance?
And if your child did take the course, did they feel it helped them to be a safer/better driver than if they were taught by family members alone?
Thanks for any info!

 

[disney1990]

We live in the State of Maryland and it is required of those seeking a driver's license.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

It was worth the cost for us to have DS do Driver's Ed. I think ours was 340.00-it's been a few years.

I don't know how much if anything we saved on insurance. My DS said it helped him feel safer behind the wheel which was the goal. They did teach him to parallel park which he was having a hard time with and needed to know to pass his drivers test.

My husband was the one who taught him to drive mostly - I did some but he wasn't a very good SUV driver so we switched to him driving my husband little car and DS did much better.

Our 2nd one is coming up on learning to drive and we no longer have the small car. So far she doesn't want to learn to drive but when she is, I'm hoping she can handle the bigger vehicles.

 

[dimimi]

In Ohio you have to take the class if you are under 18. I know for both of my sons it was VERY helpful. The kids are in a group with other kids their age. They all talk about the same thing, watch video clips, have discussions, discuss laws, etc. It is helpful for them to hear it from someone besides their parents. In my house...when the kids were in their teens...I didn't know much!.... according to them!

 

[RitaE]

If it is anything like the class my kids took years ago, don't worry, you'll still be the one doing almost all the teaching them how to drive.

My oldest son managed to win one of the lottery slots to take it at the high school and it was at least fairly structured but there were so many kids and so few driving slots that they really only got the minimum time possible actually driving in a car with the instructor.

My other son, we paid a private instructor and it was the biggest waste of money EVER, except that it did qualify get him his license. I remember one of his driving instruction slots she had him drive her to the grocery store and wait while she ran in to get some things. He seriously got home and said "Oh, I drove her up to the grocery store ….. just like I drive you Mom."

I would have complained to somebody except I needed her to sign the paper saying he'd passed the class so he could get a license.

In our state they have to have a driver's ed class to get a license before age 18 so you really don't have a choice. But there still has to be a log kept of so many hours spent driving with an adult outside of the Driver's Ed class.

At least that is the way it used to be. I really don't remember if it saved us much on insurance. Probably not.

 

[mj70148]

When I was that age (keep in mind though it was 12 yrs ago) - we took classes for free after school and when we turned 15 we could get our learner's permit if we passed the classes/driving portion. This is NC. I think they still do provide free (?) driver's ed classes via the high schools (at least from what my younger cousins tell me) but the lists to take the courses are so backed up that they have to wait, which isn't fun for teenagers who want to drive, so some parents do have their kids take private driver's ed and pay for it. What state are you in?

 

[danygirl]

We live in the State of Maryland and it is required of those seeking a driver's license.

me too! We chose to go with idrivesmart.com for around $600 or $700. I think it was 20 classes plus three 2 hour in car training just you and the instructor. All of their instructors are law enforcement

Knowing how a kid can disregard what a parent says I would highly recommend sending your child to drivers ed . We still had to do a minimum if 60 hours practice with our child in all conditions.

 

[abcboys]

I guess we are lucky. Our kids all take drivers ed thru the high school. They take the classroom portion first, then get their permit at age 15 to drive with mom and dad. Once they get closer to their 16th birthday they drive with the instructor. I think he drove every day for 1 week for maybe 5 hours total. (He drove with another boy so really only drove half that time) and had to have 50 hours total to get license at age 16. I thought it was really hard to get all those hours in unless you live in a big city or drive out of town a lot. My oldest turned 16 in October and got license in December b/c we still needed more driving hours.

I'm not sure I would pay that money unless it was mandatory. He got most of his driving practice in with us but it was nice that he could get some of his hours with an instructor.

I'm not sure what kind of discount you are getting but my son did not qualify for a good student discount, but we did sign up for some kind of safe driver thing where we filled out 20 driving outings in a book and turned it in and got a discount for that (this was state farm) so you may just ask what kind of discounts that are available.

 

[StephMK]

In our state, you either have to sign a paper as a parent that you drove with them a minimum of 50 hours or take a class. We felt like it was safer for her to take a class. I'm sure there are lesser used traffic rules that we may have forgotten to address and the class would cover. Plus I agree about kids listening to strangers. I felt it was important to have someone other than mom or dad do some of the instruction.

 

[gemini2727]

OP here. We live in NY, and I'm pretty sure the class isn't mandatory. She'll still need 50 hours of driving with a parent as well. The class says it is 24 hours of in-car instruction (6 hours behind the wheel/18 hours observation) and 24 hours of classroom. Anything to help her be a safe driver is worth it of course, I was just hoping that the insurance discount would be a big one, since the course is pretty expensive! Any of you with free classes are lucky for sure

 

[scottmel]

I am in Pittsburgh and just signed my DD up with a fantastic company that is 615.00 for FOUR 90 lessons! Yes super expensive BUT it is defensive driving that honestly I wish I had NOW for me! Takes you into the city, highway merging, online instruction too. I know it is a lot but honestly I don't have it in me to even attempt this with her. So my DH can get the 8 hours of basic in before they can offer her 8 hours!

 

[tvguy]

Class is required in California. And no discount for taking it on the insurance.

 

[clh2]

Class is required in California. And no discount for taking it on the insurance.

Ditto , except for I am in Wisconsin.

 

[dpswift]

We had our kids take lessons from an instructor. Their packages even included them being taken to the test. It was great. I would highly recommend it.

As far as discounts our insurance agent said that the best discounts are based on their grades in school. Also they can take the defensive driving class for insurance discounts.

 

[dpswift]

OP here. We live in NY, and I'm pretty sure the class isn't mandatory. She'll still need 50 hours of driving with a parent as well. The class says it is 24 hours of in-car instruction (6 hours behind the wheel/18 hours observation) and 24 hours of classroom. Anything to help her be a safe driver is worth it of course, I was just hoping that the insurance discount would be a big one, since the course is pretty expensive! Any of you with free classes are lucky for sure

No drivers ed is not mandatory, just the documented practice and the 5 hour pre licensing class.

 

[disney1990]

In our state, you either have to sign a paper as student haa parent that you drove with them a minimum of 50 hours or take a class. We felt like it was safer for her to take a class. I'm sure there are lesser used traffic rules that we may have forgotten to address and the class would cover. Plus I agree about kids listening to strangers. I felt it was important to have someone other than mom or dad do some of the instruction.

In addition to Driver's Education in the State of Maryland, parents have to keep a log and they have to certify that their child has driven 60 hours under various conditions, night, rain, passing other autos, etc. Maryland does not allow a license now until a child is 16-1/2.

 

[kathy884]

Unfortunately without his already having a driver's license (extra car, but no one to drive it), we didn't have a way to get him to and from classes and with our work schedules (early evening classes), and we didn't have anyone else available to transport DS to and from Driver's Ed. So we taught him to drive. And I did hire a private instructor to come to our house for two sessions just to give him a few tips the two weeks before he took his driving test. I think DS is a very good driver. He is 19 and has been driving for three years. Still I would definitely if I could have swung it logistically had him take a class.

I think Driver's Ed is very worth while and if you can get your child to and from the classes and afford it, I would do it. To this day (and I am 54 now), in certain circumstances, things come back to me from my driver's ed class regarding how to handle the situation.

For me it's not the insurance savings (our insurance company gives a good student discount for a B average or better, but not anything for driver's ed), but more the education benefits that will probably stick with you for the rest of your life. that makes me feel that it is worthwhile.

 

[StitchBuddy]

In a word, "YES"! Have you ever taught a child to drive. I am a teacher, but can't teach my own child. They just don't listen to you like they will an instructor. My friends DD had to go through drivers ed after they self taught her, because she was scared to death. She was scared from the parents screaming at her while trying to teach her. LOL! So, in my opinion it is well worth the money. They will still require you to practice with her to complete the course. Good luck!!!

 

[danygirl]

Unfortunately without his already having a driver's license (extra car, but no one to drive it), we didn't have a way to get him to and from classes and with our work schedules (early evening classes), and we didn't have anyone else available to transport DS to and from Driver's Ed. So we taught him to drive. And I did hire a private instructor to come to our house for two sessions just to give him a few tips the two weeks before he took his driving test. I think DS is a very good driver. He is 19 and has been driving for three years. Still I would definitely if I could have swung it logistically had him take a class. I think Driver's Ed is very worth while and if you can get your child to and from the classes and afford it, I would do it. To this day (and I am 54 now), in certain circumstances, things come back to me from my driver's ed class regarding how to handle the situation. For me it's not the insurance savings (our insurance company gives a good student discount for a B average or better, but not anything for driver's ed), but more the education benefits that will probably stick with you for the rest of your life. that makes me feel that it is worthwhile.

You find time if it is important to you. Dd did her in car driving at 6 am.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Here in Ontario, we saved about 30% on our son's insurance with his drivers education discount. And thank heavens for that, because premiums for young male drivers here are absolutely ridiculous (females can be insured for half the cost).

DS just turned 19 this past weekend, and has his own car. His insurance is about $1700 a year (that's public liability and public damage coverage only....no collision, as the car is 13 years old). Without drivers education training, and with keeping the car in my name and on DH & I's home and auto policy, it would have been in excess of $3000 for the year.