crochet_lover
enthusiast
Posts: 139
Loc: Allen, Texas U.S.A.
Reg: 05-17-05
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02-27-09 11:32 PM - Post#79395
Both my kids are in Drivers Ed now and my nerves are a little ragged after practice sessions! Today my son nearly rear ended another car. I don't know if I have the "calm" gene in me! I try to be positive and follow the recommended parent participation techniques. What I really want to do is yank the steering wheel out of their hands and say," Ride a bike!" Anybody else have trepidations about their new drivers in the family?
Edited by crochet_lover on 02-27-09 11:33 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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rclark
enthusiast
Posts: 813
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 01-16-08
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02-28-09 12:44 AM - Post#79401
In response to crochet_lover
Some are better at remaining calm than others.
My wife's aunt is in her nineties now, but when she was out for a practice run with her father in the Model A (or whatever it was), she mananged to run up an embankment and turn over the car.
When they came to a stop, his only words: "That will be all for today, Anne".
Me, I'm with you ...
Two plus two equals five, for sufficiently large values of two.
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phantomcobra
enthusiast
Posts: 1437
Loc: Between Canada and Mexico...
Reg: 06-18-02
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03-02-09 08:31 PM - Post#79542
In response to rclark
I have 3 kids and two were never allowed behind the wheel of my cars. They didn't convince me they could get from point A to point B without some major body work. If they can't be responsible, they can wait until they buy their own car and pay their own insurance. Then they will learn.
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DrivinTooFast
enthusiast
Posts: 1874
Reg: 02-20-08
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03-09-09 01:07 PM - Post#80058
In response to phantomcobra
I think parent taught Drivers education is a crock. Most adults are crappy drivers, why would anyone think they can teach their kids.
I am leaving the basic teaching to a driver instructor and I will stick to teaching car control, driving in extreme conditions, hazardous weather driving and driver situational awareness.
I am in no hurry to have my kids solo.
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Levansfour
enthusiast
Posts: 511
Reg: 05-09-05
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03-09-09 02:51 PM - Post#80066
In response to DrivinTooFast
I think parent taught Drivers education is a crock. Most adults are crappy drivers, why would anyone think they can teach their kids.
I am leaving the basic teaching to a driver instructor and I will stick to teaching car control, driving in extreme conditions, hazardous weather driving and driver situational awareness.
I am in no hurry to have my kids solo.
Hmm but you trust a adult you do not know to be able to teach bette than you? You just said above most adults drive crappy.
We taught all 3 of our kids ourselves. They are great drivers who know how to drive defensivly and carefully.
Good luck when your kids are ready to drive.
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DrivinTooFast
enthusiast
Posts: 1874
Reg: 02-20-08
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03-09-09 05:03 PM - Post#80078
In response to Levansfour
I trust another to provide a curriculum and teach to that curriculum. I assure you I can teach much more about driving safely than any book.
How many divers teach their kids to test the ABS system in the car so they get the feel for when it engages?
How many parents teach their kids to countersteer into a skid and actually make them do it?
How many parents teach their kids sitational awareness where the driver can identify all the cars around them without looking in the mirror?
How many parents teach their kids to look far down the road and anticipate what will be coming up instead of reacting to what is happening right under their hood?
All this has NOTHING to do with the rules of the road or getting your driver's license and has everything about being a better driver.
I'll leave teaching the rules of the road to the pros, I'm teaching my kids how to drive.
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Levansfour
enthusiast
Posts: 511
Reg: 05-09-05
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03-09-09 05:28 PM - Post#80085
In response to DrivinTooFast
what makes you assume that parents who teach their kids do not teach those things and more? Spending all that money for a professinal to teach what is in the hand book is a waste of money,plus they get very little drive time in those classes. The parent taught way gives you a whole year to practice and make sure your child is more than ready then a "professinal class" who gives your kid 10 minutes driving time if you are lucky and sends them out on their way.
Of course this is just my thougths on the matter. We all have our own ways of doing things and that is ok too.
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workingmom
enthusiast
Posts: 1089
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 06-03-04
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03-09-09 05:41 PM - Post#80086
In response to Levansfour
My son is taking Driver's Ed through the Driving School of North Texas. I don't know where you get you information but the "driving" part is not 10 minutes. It's 7 2-hour sessions. One hour of each session is spent observing and one hour is spent driving. But that is not the only driving experience he will get - he must hold his permit for 6 months so he'll get lots of practice driving with us as well before he gets his license....and he won't get his license and drive solo until we are sure he is ready.
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Levansfour
enthusiast
Posts: 511
Reg: 05-09-05
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03-09-09 08:28 PM - Post#80091
In response to workingmom
I was going by what other parents have told me.With our oldest child.That was 7 years ago. So hopefully things have improved like you said.
I still can not see spending 100's of dollars for something I myself can do for much less.
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workingmom
enthusiast
Posts: 1089
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 06-03-04
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03-09-09 09:02 PM - Post#80093
In response to Levansfour
I felt that way as well with our oldest...We tried the parent taught course with him but ended up enrolling him in Driver's Ed.
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ReadingRainbow
enthusiast
Posts: 773
Loc: Allen
Reg: 10-19-07
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03-09-09 10:18 PM - Post#80102
In response to workingmom
Is that 1 hour per student, or is there a whole class of students for the hour? I ask because my mother has been teaching my little sister herself due to the lack (our experience is YEARS old from when I did my driving lessons) of actual drive time.
(15 years ago we had 4 students and a teacher per car, and 1 hour. I got to drive once)
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DrivinTooFast
enthusiast
Posts: 1874
Reg: 02-20-08
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03-10-09 07:25 AM - Post#80106
In response to Levansfour
what makes you assume that parents who teach their kids do not teach those things and more? Spending all that money for a professinal to teach what is in the hand book is a waste of money,plus they get very little drive time in those classes. The parent taught way gives you a whole year to practice and make sure your child is more than ready then a "professinal class" who gives your kid 10 minutes driving time if you are lucky and sends them out on their way.
Of course this is just my thougths on the matter. We all have our own ways of doing things and that is ok too.
I think you might be missing my point. I WILL be teaching my kids to drive, but I want it to be augmention to professional driving instruction. I am willing to admit that I do not know it all. But I do know what I know - car control, skid management, driver sitational awareness and anticipation.
Additionally, the from a driving shool in-car time is usually split between 3 kids. the other two observe (or sleep) while one drives.
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rclark
enthusiast
Posts: 813
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 01-16-08
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03-10-09 07:36 AM - Post#80108
In response to DrivinTooFast
... But I do know what I know - car control, skid management, driver sitational awareness and anticipation.
Don't sell yourself short - if you can transfer these skills, you will create a driver I won't mind seeing on the road next to me.
I can see some benefit to a disinterested third party teaching something stressful like driving, but I suspect that commercial driver's ed mostly provides cool movies.
Two plus two equals five, for sufficiently large values of two.
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workingmom
enthusiast
Posts: 1089
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 06-03-04
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03-10-09 09:00 AM - Post#80121
In response to ReadingRainbow
At the school my son attends all students individually set up 7 2-hour drive time appointments. During the drive time 2 students are in the car with the instructor. During drive times each student takes a turn to observe for 1 hour and drive for 1 hour of the 2 hour session. And FYI - it's not like a cattle call in class. His class includes about 15 students. I'm pleased with the choice we made to send him to Driver's School. To each his/her own! I just jumped in the conversation to describe our experience.
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workingmom
enthusiast
Posts: 1089
Loc: Allen, TX
Reg: 06-03-04
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03-10-09 09:05 AM - Post#80122
In response to workingmom
But again that is not the ONLY driving experience my son will get. Since he got his permit we've been (and will continue) letting him practice driving with us. He will get this at home practice for at least 6 months before he's able to get his license. We (his parents) will determine WHEN he is able to get his license and at a minimum his grades must be good good, he must continue to display responsible behavior outside of driving, and we must feel he is ready from a driving skills level.
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crochet_lover
enthusiast
Posts: 139
Loc: Allen, Texas U.S.A.
Reg: 05-17-05
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03-11-09 08:41 AM - Post#80207
In response to workingmom
When I took drivers ed, it was offered by the school. My instructor was a coach, not even a certified instructor! He read the paper while we drove!
Since I wrote the original post, I have been having them drive everywhere we go. We take routes that are safe enough for their new skills and safe for others! I am calming down somewhat and only grab the dash occasionally! Looking ahead is one of the concepts the driving school is a proponent of, they call it horizon driving.
We are taking each type of driving situation one step at a time. Like today it will be wet road driving. I think the 6 month learner's permit requirement is a lot better than when I got mine. As soon as I turned 16, boom, I got my license and out on the road within a month or so of drivers ed! That is scary to think of now!
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Al C
enthusiast
Posts: 5920
Loc: McKinney/Allen, TX
Reg: 02-16-01
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03-11-09 01:42 PM - Post#80238
In response to crochet_lover
You might also want to have them take the defensive driving course. That can be done online and they'll also receive a discount on insurance upon completion.
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RRRquilter
enthusiast
Posts: 1471
Loc: Allen
Reg: 05-02-05
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03-14-09 04:03 PM - Post#80533
In response to crochet_lover
Wow, didn't you have a learners permit before getting your license at 16? Where I grew up we got our learners permit at 14 and then the license at 16. I was taught at the age of 12, so by the time I was 16 I had been driving for some time. I guess I need to brush up on how things are done here, only four and half more years and I will have a driver.
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crochet_lover
enthusiast
Posts: 139
Loc: Allen, Texas U.S.A.
Reg: 05-17-05
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03-14-09 06:56 PM - Post#80546
In response to RRRquilter
I took drivers ed as a sophmore in May and I was fifteen. I turned 16 at the end of June. So, I had a learner's permit for less than two months. And back in the days, there was no such thing as a provisional license. As for the age you can take drivers ed in Texas, I don't know. I only know this year we could afford to send them. Now we are comparing insurance rates. But that is another topic!
Edited by crochet_lover on 03-14-09 06:59 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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RRRquilter
enthusiast
Posts: 1471
Loc: Allen
Reg: 05-02-05
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03-14-09 09:05 PM - Post#80552
In response to crochet_lover
I do not envy that. Insurance must be through the roof for a teenager.
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leogirl
enthusiast
Posts: 104
Reg: 07-15-07
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03-18-09 04:26 PM - Post#80808
In response to DrivinTooFast
From my experience when I started driving it was so much better for me to be taught by an instructor versus my father. My father would freak out in the car and yell at me before I even would make a mistake. He would make me so nervous that I would shake everytime I would drive with him in the car. So from my experience I would say its better to have an isntructor from a reputable company.
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crochet_lover
enthusiast
Posts: 139
Loc: Allen, Texas U.S.A.
Reg: 05-17-05
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04-11-09 08:51 PM - Post#82425
In response to leogirl
I think my kids agree with you! But we survived drivers ed! I am much more comfortable with them driving. Next, highways!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW, thanks to all for all the encouragement,info,and ideas!
Edited by crochet_lover on 04-11-09 08:53 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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vrs
enthusiast
Posts: 2845
Loc: Allen, Texas
Reg: 04-20-00
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04-12-09 11:47 PM - Post#82460
In response to DrivinTooFast
I trust another to provide a curriculum and teach to that curriculum. I assure you I can teach much more about driving safely than any book.
I loved this post from you, given your handle - LOL.
Just for general information, parents who teach their children to drive have to observe a state-approved curriculum. I think from your post you believe that parents who choose to teach their kids to drive can just do whatever they like.
With our kids, it was "Driver's Ed in a Box" There were videos for adults and the kids. Work books. A series of lessons. A stick on mirror for the interior rearview mirror so you could see where your kids eyes were focused.
The kids completed all the video and workbooks and then sat for the written test at the DPS. Once they got their learner's permit, then there were a series of guided driving lessons - learning the vehicle and maneuvering. Finally there was a log book for a certain number of hours of "drive time" and all of the lessons you enumerate in your post were covered somewhere in the curriculum.
When all was complete and signed off, then the student goes to the DPS and takes the driving test.
I believe my sons got a far better driver education from me than they would have from some other instructor. And I taught them both to drive a stick right from the gitgo which they never would have learned at Sears Driving School.
At the end of the day, I believe it is a personal preference (like home schooling or formal schooling of some sort) which route you go. It takes a certain personality and a certain relationship with your child to get through it successfully.
Last point is that all of us need to be aware that, like it or not, we are teaching our children to drive from the time they are tiny. Do we roll through stop signs, cut people off in traffic, talk on the phone, cuss out other drivers, say "I'm fine with a couple of drinks" or simply "drive too fast"? Or do we drive safely, courteously, carefully and attentively?
Does not matter what you say to your kids - almost nothing can prevent them from becoming who you are....
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vrs
enthusiast
Posts: 2845
Loc: Allen, Texas
Reg: 04-20-00
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04-12-09 11:48 PM - Post#82461
In response to crochet_lover
I think my kids agree with you! But we survived drivers ed! I am much more comfortable with them driving. Next, highways!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW, thanks to all for all the encouragement,info,and ideas!
Glad you all made it through - may there be many safe and happy miles for you all as you drink coffee while the older kids take over some of the chauffeur duties for you!!!!
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crochet_lover
enthusiast
Posts: 139
Loc: Allen, Texas U.S.A.
Reg: 05-17-05
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04-13-09 09:21 AM - Post#82466
In response to vrs
Thanks vrs! It is nice to be the passenger and I am seeing things here in Allen I have never seen before! When you drive you don't have time to be sightseeing! But now, it's like,"Has that always been here?" It certainly is a different perspective.
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collegebound
newbie
Posts: 7
Reg: 07-15-10
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08-12-10 02:46 PM - Post#116443
In response to DrivinTooFast
I feel as if I am a better drive because my mother taught me instead of a drivers ed teacher. They read the book, go on 8-1 hour drive times, and take the test to get their license. EIGHT hours of driving and get their lience. My mother took me out in the car four times a week, for two hours at a time, and taught me EVERYTHING. I drove in the rain so I would know what to do when I hydroplaned. I drove in the ice so that I would know how to control my car when I skidded out of control. When I was having trouble turning (I didn't trust my auto-steering) my mom took me to an empty parking lot and taught me that I didn't have to turn the wheel back myself. Best of all, when I got scared and froze up while driving, my mother knew how to calm me down, because she is my mother and she knows me. None of that would have happened in driver's ed. I have never had an At-Fault accident. I was hit by a girl, my age (who took driver's ed) after she sideswiped me trying to cross three lanes of traffic without looking. Just because someone is a driver's ed teacher doesn't mean they can drive well. I'm pro-parent taught. 
Edited by collegebound on 08-12-10 02:48 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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texmomma
enthusiast
Posts: 534
Reg: 10-02-06
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08-12-10 03:14 PM - Post#116446
In response to collegebound
Sounds like you had a very responsible mom who taught you well. We have decided to send my daughter to the driving school, so they can hear details that they give that we might be rusty on, things like that. There's no way she's getting her license right after that though. Once she has her permit, her dad and I will spend those hours you're talking about in addition to the driving school, under all conditions, etc. She won't get her license until WE feel she's ready, and then with strict limitations.
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Al C
enthusiast
Posts: 5920
Loc: McKinney/Allen, TX
Reg: 02-16-01
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08-12-10 03:28 PM - Post#116448
In response to texmomma
Whatever happened to driver's ed in high school? Lots of driving time, written instruction, simulator hours, gorey films ... good times.
I will be teaching my daughters when the time comes. Lesson one will be proper maintenance ... check/change oil, change a flat, check/change/add other auto fluids, etc. Heck, I might even see if I cand find some of those gorey films.
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mspam3
enthusiast
Posts: 2380
Loc: Allen TX
Reg: 03-10-07
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08-12-10 03:49 PM - Post#116450
In response to Al C
I took driver's ed in high school. It was free and we got graded on our performance. I think it was some sort of elective then. The high school wrestling coach taught the class. Times have sure changed!
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jogo
enthusiast
Posts: 1475
Reg: 08-31-05
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08-12-10 07:12 PM - Post#116470
In response to collegebound
They read the book, go on 8-1 hour drive times, and take the test to get their license. EIGHT hours of driving and get their lience.
There have been several changes in driving license requirements. Currently, the student must turn in a log proving they have completed at least 20 hours of driving time practicing various maneuvers. It's still not alot but much better than the small requirement of a few years back. Here's the link Instruction Log
The driving school only has 7 - 1 hour drive times so it still leaves alot of time that the parent has to actually be in the car with their teenager teaching them to drive. Plus, I don't think most responsible parents would allow their child to get a license with only 8 hours of practice. My child (who currently has a learner's permit) will not be allowed to even think about getting a drivers license until we feel confident in her driving ability and her behavior and grades indicate that she has the maturity needed to drive alone.
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DrivinTooFast
enthusiast
Posts: 1874
Reg: 02-20-08
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12-04-10 06:33 PM - Post#121989
In response to vrs
I trust another to provide a curriculum and teach to that curriculum. I assure you I can teach much more about driving safely than any book.
I loved this post from you, given your handle - LOL.
Just for general information, parents who teach their children to drive have to observe a state-approved curriculum. I think from your post you believe that parents who choose to teach their kids to drive can just do whatever they like.
With our kids, it was "Driver's Ed in a Box" There were videos for adults and the kids. Work books. A series of lessons. A stick on mirror for the interior rearview mirror so you could see where your kids eyes were focused.
The kids completed all the video and workbooks and then sat for the written test at the DPS. Once they got their learner's permit, then there were a series of guided driving lessons - learning the vehicle and maneuvering. Finally there was a log book for a certain number of hours of "drive time" and all of the lessons you enumerate in your post were covered somewhere in the curriculum.
When all was complete and signed off, then the student goes to the DPS and takes the driving test.
I believe my sons got a far better driver education from me than they would have from some other instructor. And I taught them both to drive a stick right from the gitgo which they never would have learned at Sears Driving School.
At the end of the day, I believe it is a personal preference (like home schooling or formal schooling of some sort) which route you go. It takes a certain personality and a certain relationship with your child to get through it successfully.
Last point is that all of us need to be aware that, like it or not, we are teaching our children to drive from the time they are tiny. Do we roll through stop signs, cut people off in traffic, talk on the phone, cuss out other drivers, say "I'm fine with a couple of drinks" or simply "drive too fast"? Or do we drive safely, courteously, carefully and attentively?
Does not matter what you say to your kids - almost nothing can prevent them from becoming who you are....
Ah, My handle is a bit confusing - I race cars - at least I used to do that. Nothing teaches car control like taking a car into a turn at 140 MPH.
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