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Yes, we had drivers ed at school. I can't remember if it was an entire semester, or what, it was so long ago. We were required to take 2 year of PE and you got to skip PE for it. If you weren't in PE I think you took it either before or after school. We had classroom time, simulator time and actual in car driving time.
Neither of my kids high schools (2 different states) offered drivers ed.
My husbands, mine and my kids (different schools, different states, different decades(!) ) all had mandatory drivers ed with in class and on the road driving. Must be why Pennsylvania and Delaware drivers are so good!
My son's school district does offer it and it counted towards a 1/2 credit - the year after he did it they started making it a 1/4 credit. It's offered during the summer and is classroom and also driving. You can take it as early as 14, which he did. He just couldn't do the driving portion until he turned 15 and when he did, the driver's ed teacher came and pulled him out of school to do the driving part. It was rather expensive it I remember correctly.
Location: Prescott Valley,az summer/east valley Az winter
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guess I did things the weird way~ signed up for drivers ed~ given summer of junior year. went to first class~ took a trip to Washington DC I had won from local REC. Got back the day they took the written test. Aced the test so they cancelled makeup work~ on first day of driving asked the instructor if I could use drivers ed car to take drivers test~ answer was yes~before next drivers session. When I came out with my drivers license teacher said apperently no need to continue driving practice and I was done~ with my 1/2 credit.
Of couse I was raised on a farm and had been driving on that farm since I was 6.
Judging by the drivers on the road, such a course is necessary. I don't agree with the more advance DIY repairs. Stick with simple basic stuff like air filter, wiper blades, adjust headlight aim (something many vehicles on the road need badly), how to check the oil, and how to check and add air to tires for example. The driving lessons should include learning how to drive a manual transmission, how to drive an automatic in the lower gears below drive, how to tow a trailer (including going in reverse and parking in a turn without jack knifing), how to deal with weather related conditions like snow, water, mud, ice, and fog. The driving should also include an example of what happens when texting while driving. Set up a path in a parking lot and have the student try to drive the course while texting. My school's driver's ed included a visit by the local police with something they called The Convincer. It was a boat trailer with a railroad rail welded to the frame. On the rail was a car seat with three point seatbelt. The trailer was taken off the hitch and the hitch was allowed to drop to the ground. The seat was moved to the high point and locked in place. The student sits in the seat and buckles in. The officer pulls a lever releasing the car seat. The seat rolls down until it hits a large steel plate at the bottom at about 30 mph. Since that day I never drove without my seatbelt on. US driving test for drivers license is a joke and is far too easy.
Yes, we had it in school, a full semester, and credit was given. All paid for by the school district. There was a fleet of sweet, brand new Plymouths parked in the school lot (given by a local dealership) and we got plenty of behind-the-wheel training. We also had driving simulators and studied the DMV handbook. They showed us films of bloody accidents. One day included a demo of drinking and driving. One of the teachers volunteered to take several shots of whiskey and then drive around the lot as he got progressively skunked crashing into cones and dummies that represented innocent pedestrians.
My guess is no one does those kinds of demos any more.
They did, but you had to pay around $400-500 for the class. This was in Connecticut, and when I moved down to North Carolina I learned that down here they usually offer it for free. Cost of living I guess.
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