On a daily basis, teens are surrounded by distractions, many of which stem from their cellphones — including social media, texts and emails. Behind the wheel, those distractions can be hazardous for anyone, but especially for young people just learning to drive.
Safe driving habits, along with the rules of the road, are taught in driver’s education. Other than meeting the minimum age requirement for a license — which is typically between 15 and 16.5 years — at least 31 states also require teens to take driver’s education, according to the Association of National Stakeholders in Traffic Safety Education.
What Is Driver’s Education?
Driver’s education is a formal in-person or online program that teaches individuals about state driving laws and how to operate a motor vehicle. In addition to academic instruction, driver’s education also often requires a certain amount of behind-the-wheel training and supervised driving hours, depending on the age of the person seeking a license.
These programs are taught through high schools or private companies, or both, depending on the state. Program length varies, but students typically need at least 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours of behind-the-wheel training, with additional hours of observation.
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In schools, driver’s education is typically taught by coaches or teachers who are certified by the state — and the academic portion is usually funded. But behind-the-wheel training and taking driver’s education outside of school or through a private company often comes with an additional cost.
Benefits of Driver’s Ed
At any age, taking a driver’s education class is beneficial, experts say, as it teaches about how a vehicle works, how to drive in adverse conditions and how to avoid potential dangers, among other concepts.
But the risk of motor vehicle crashes is significantly higher among teens. Per mile driven, teen drivers aged 16 to 19 have a fatal car crash rate almost three times as high as drivers who are 20 and older, according to 2020 data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Driving is usually “something that you’re going to do your whole life and pretty much every day of your life,” says Tim Beckham, project manager for the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association. Car crashes are the second most common cause of death for teenagers, he notes. “So it’s really a course to protect them from one of the (main) causes of death for their age group.”
What Does Driver’s Ed Curriculum Look Like?
Concepts taught in driver’s education are similar in each district or state, but terminology or curricula may differ, experts say. Students can expect to learn concepts such as hand positions, traffic signals and driving in rural vs. urban conditions, as well as the dangers of speeding, distracted driving and driving while under the influence.
[READ: How to Involve Your Child in Choosing a High School.]
In states or districts where high schools don’t offer driver’s education as an elective or a required course, the cost and distance to program sites can be a barrier, especially for rural students. Some districts or schools have tried to address this issue.
For instance, a driver’s education course was piloted this year at Cañon City High School, a public school in rural Colorado that previously did not offer driver’s ed. The course can be taken anytime between a student’s sophomore and senior year. But space is limited — students who qualify for free or reduced lunch take priority, says principal Bill Summers.
“We are trying to level the playing field from a financial or socioeconomic standpoint to make sure that students who might have a hard time paying for the class through the state are able to take it with a teacher in the room that can support them, and for free,” he says. “In rural Colorado, these programs don’t exist or they’re not as readily available.” Meaning, many students may have to pay to take an online course or travel long distances to participate in an in-person program.
What Should Parents and Guardians Expect From Driver’s Ed?
Current driver’s education concepts and curricula are a little different from when a parent or legal guardian may have learned how to drive, Beckham says. Hand positions are no longer at 10 and 2 o’clock, for instance. It’s now shifted to 9 and 3 o’clock, or 8 and 4 o’clock.
“That’s hard for some parents because they want to teach what they learned or teach off of their experience because they’re an experienced driver,” he says. “What parents need to realize is this is novice driver training and we are going to teach them a little bit different than how an experienced driver would drive.”
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However, parents and guardians still need to be readily involved in the process. Sixteen states require or strongly encourage parents or guardians to participate in driver’s education sessions at their child’s school, according to the ANSTSE, in addition to supervised driving. Texas also offers the option for parents to teach a driver’s education course.
Utah’s curriculum is centered around the parents, says Audra G. Urie, driver education specialist in the Teaching and Learning Division at the Utah State Board of Education. Just like for any other class, progress reports are given out and students are assigned homework — often related to how to change fuel, windshield fluid and oil, and other aspects of the vehicle.
“We start the communication with the parents of how to be a good role model and setting boundaries and rules for the car,” she says. “We have a certain set curriculum we do with the parents, and this is before the start of the driver’s ed class, so that they know what their student is going to learn, what’s expected of (them), what’s expected of their students and how they need to work together for the licensing.”
Families can learn more about driving requirements or available programs by contacting their state’s driver’s education program manger, school administrators or a school counselor, experts say.
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What to Know About Driver’s Ed in High School originally appeared on usnews.com
