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Is Driver’s ED Still Important?

The ways people have learned how to drive have changed with the times. Many teenagers learned how to operate a motor vehicle by attending public school classes. Often someone like the physical education teacher was responsible for instructing the kids on their driving skills. 

As funding for such classes was cut more and more, learning how to drive fell on the parents of the prospective drivers. This means private driver’s education courses started to give many options for new drivers to learn how to stay safe behind the wheel.

What are the benefits of going to driver’s education school? Many people are now taking advantage of the current technology we have and taking courses online. Does driver’s ed online lower insurance? We’ll discuss all of these things and more. 

Financial Benefits of Taking Driver’s Ed

Sometimes the only way to motivate someone is to tell them they will get a discount on their monthly expenses. This is one of the main reasons people still participate in driver’s ed courses. Nearly every insurance company in the country encourages you to take driver’s ed because it indicates you are less of a risk to insure. 

This is especially true for teenage drivers. Some companies won’t even insure a teenager until they are of legal age if they don’t have driver’s ed on their resume. Talk to your insurance company and see what they require as far as driver’s ed goes for teen drivers. 

The car industry has become very technologically advanced, and this is also true in the case of driver’s ed courses. The pandemic encouraged everyone to go remote, and driver’s ed courses are no different. It’s hard to do any actual driving with an instructor when the class is online, but the lecture part of the course is taken easily online. 

Insurance companies will view this certificate just like they would if you took the course in person. This is very helpful to those who want to get their license during the pandemic in places where face-to-face contact was limited in 2020 and 2021. 

Important Skills Learned in Driver’s Ed Classes

Some states still require a teenager to have taken a driver’s ed course before they get their license. There needs to be an emphasis on the important skills that can be learned in driver’s ed. These courses help teens to get their driver’s license, but they also contribute to the lifelong ability to safely drive and operate a vehicle. 

The most famous maneuver that everyone says you only need to use when taking your driving test is parallel parking. This skill is actually much more important than just a benchmark on a test. When you know how long a fender bender can stay on your record, you will understand how important it is to learn to maneuver your car precisely when parking.

With more parking lots becoming overcrowded with shoppers, there is often no place to park. Learning how to parallel park and retaining that skill wherever you go gives you a safe way to park on the side of the road, where legal, and not have to worry about getting in anyone’s way. 

Often there are rules of the road that people forget after they get out of driver’s ed. Taking a class to touch upon these skills and bits of knowledge will help you make better decisions on the road. 

Things like making a right turn at a red light can be confusing to new drivers. Other right-of-way laws when getting on the freeway or traveling to a four-way stop without a traffic light are also difficult to understand and remember. Driver’s ed teaches you about all of these subjects and more. 

New Cars Take Different Skills to Drive

It is important to remember how much vehicles have changed in the past several decades. The number of safety features embedded in the cars and trucks on market has made driving safer —  and more confusing. How do you use brake assist? How do you let your car park itself without crashing into something?

Driver’s ed teachers are far more knowledgeable about the new technologies inside of vehicles than any parent would possibly be. They will help you or your teenager understand how to take advantage of the new features in modern cars without confusing or making it harder on the driver. 

This goes hand-in-hand with the insurance discounts we talked about earlier, too. Having more safety features in your vehicle will look attractive to your insurance company. Proving that you have a good driving education to take advantage of those features will look even better. In turn, you could get a discount on both your driver’s education and the car you drive. 

There are also different driver’s ed courses you can take depending on the type of vehicle you are going to drive. If you want to take a stick shift out for a spin, there are classes that focus on this skill. If you are going to become a commercial truck driver, you need special certification for that. 

There are even more specialized skill classes available for those who want to drive sports cars, tractors for farming, and motorcycles. Driving is a varied activity that needs the right kind of training. It is vital to think about the types of education you need before you go on the road in any of these niche vehicles. 

You Need Driver’s Ed

Hopefully, society will start to value these driver’s ed courses more in the future. More budgeting needs to be placed in public schools for driver’s ed like back in the mid-20th century. Driving is a life skill that everyone should learn, but this makes it hard to gain a proper education when it’s assumed that driving comes easily to most. 

Don’t listen to society: You need driver’s ed when you start driving, and it’s helpful for people of all ages. 

Shawn Laib Author

 

Shawn Laib writes and researches for the car insurance site, CarInsuranceComparison.com. He wants to help people understand the options they have to receive proper education in driving.