Yeah, I think when you're 15 you can get your 'school permit' to drive to and from school. And I'm fairly sure you have to have taken drivers ed to get that permit. Iowa sucks :wall:

 

 

 

I wouldn't really mind about that. Personally I had to be 18 to get my licence (which is a standard age here, basically no1 can get earlier) and so far I've paid something like 1300e for it. Yep, you read it right. Like 1000-1100e for the 1st part (which gives me permission to drive for 2 years) and after that 250e for 2nd part which gives me a permanent licence. Yep, we gotta drive a lot at driving school and take a lot of theory lessons. Of course it's safetier that way as there's less totally unexperienced drivers at the traffic, but still I feel kinda ripped off.

Are you absolutely sure you need 6mo experience before taking the class? Or just getting your license. It also looks entirely optional unless you want to drive before 18 :P

 

 

 

In Kansas you take the class and then you have some extra hours towards getting your learners/farm permit and you don't have to take a test at the place where you get your license.

 

 

 

As for what I think? I think it's a great experience and it should be taken, because when I went it taught me defensive driving and how to handle all sorts of situations (although some are kind of hard to remember like who has right of way at a 4way stop if you all stop at the same time >.<).

Are you absolutely sure you need 6mo experience before taking the class?

 

 

 

That's what my parents have told me.

 

and they're paying for my drivers ed so I figure if I want a car I better not * this up..

I live in Iowa, I took Driver's Ed. The first time I'd ever driven was in class.

 

 

 

I don't think it's a waste of time or money. Not all kids are taught by their parents, and this insures that everyone at least knows the basics, and the laws.

 

 

 

$400 I think is a bit much though :/... I don't think mine was over $150.

I live in Iowa, I took Driver's Ed. The first time I'd ever driven was in class.

 

 

 

I don't think it's a waste of time or money. Not all kids are taught by their parents, and this insures that everyone at least knows the basics, and the laws.

 

 

 

$400 I think is a bit much though :/... I don't think mine was over $150.

 

 

 

Heh, my friend has been 16 for a few months and his parents still won't even let him get his permit :lol:

 

 

 

 

 

And how is everyone else lucky enough to not have to pay $345!? :wall:

 

 

 

 

 

OT: I thought I was the only one on the TIF that lived in Iowa.. Nice to know I'm not alone \

I live in Iowa, I took Driver's Ed. The first time I'd ever driven was in class.

 

 

 

I don't think it's a waste of time or money. Not all kids are taught by their parents, and this insures that everyone at least knows the basics, and the laws.

 

 

 

$400 I think is a bit much though :/... I don't think mine was over $150.

 

 

 

And not all kids are taught good habits by their parents :P

This just reminds me to do the stupid written test already. I need to do it by next month

Driver's Ed was great, you have no idea how much you can learn if you have a great teacher. i personally had a guy who had been teaching for 20 years and had been a firefighter so he knew crashes from first hand experience. The knowledge i gained there rocked, and it was definetly worth the $369 USD my family payed.......

 

 

 

although i have heard that some places really stink and are a joke..

Massachusetts law requires under-18s to take driver's ed, which includes...

 

 

 

1) Thirty hours of classroom instruction.

 

Sit in a room with forty other sixteen year olds listening to some fat old guy telling boring anecdotes about the rules of the road.

 

 

 

2) Six hours of driving instruction with an instructer.

 

I actually thought that this was time well spent.

 

 

 

3) Six hours of observation.

 

That's right. Observation. You sit in the back of the car and observe while the instructer works with another student driver. Worth the money?

 

:notalk:

 

 

 

 

 

Overall, I'd say that it wasn't worth the money. But the time behind the wheel with an instructer is really well spent. He notices all sorts of stupid little bad habits that are easy to fix and could prevent a crash.

Overall, I'd say that it wasn't worth the money. But the time behind the wheel with an instructer is really well spent. He notices all sorts of stupid little bad habits that are easy to fix and could prevent a crash.

 

 

 

 

 

I suppose I'd have to drive with 2 hands on the wheel right?(for some reason I'm more comfortable driving with only 1 hand on the wheel)

 

I went out driving with my parents today, and it was mostly the whole "Gas.. slow down... Brakes... BRAKES!" thing.. I guess the actual driving would be the only part that I could benefit from.. But that's not worth the money..

Overall, I'd say that it wasn't worth the money. But the time behind the wheel with an instructer is really well spent. He notices all sorts of stupid little bad habits that are easy to fix and could prevent a crash.

 

 

 

 

 

I suppose I'd have to drive with 2 hands on the wheel right?(for some reason I'm more comfortable driving with only 1 hand on the wheel)

 

I went out driving with my parents today, and it was mostly the whole "Gas.. slow down... Brakes... BRAKES!" thing.. I guess the actual driving would be the only part that I could benefit from.. But that's not worth the money..

 

 

 

It's definitely worth the money, since not all of it is nitpickery like that. I learned a lot of great things from my instructor that I probably wouldn't have learned by myself or with my parents like keeping an eye on all enemies..... er, drivers.... behind you :)

It's definitely worth the money, since not all of it is nitpickery like that. I learned a lot of great things from my instructor that I probably wouldn't have learned by myself or with my parents like keeping an eye on all enemies..... er, drivers.... behind you :)

 

 

 

Lol, I guess I never really thought about watching the enemy behind me.. I've learned something new \

 

 

 

*Note to self.. If the enemy gets too close, I'll just hit the brakes.. :twisted: *

well for my state (virginia)...

 

 

 

you get your permit at minimum age of 15 and 6 months after passing a written test. then you hold your permit for 9 months and drive for a minimum of 40 hours (10 of which are at night) and take "behind the wheel" which costs money. after you pass behind the wheel you get a blue card thingy (which is as good as a license)...after getting your blue card youre assigned a court date where you get the lamenated real license...

 

 

 

so in VA...it's required...not a waste of money

Have your friends teach you.

 

 

 

Also, in CA you don't need Drivers Ed and Drivers Training to get your permit if you're 17 1/2.

Meh, I'm 15 right now, if I were in South Dakota I could be driving by now. Instead of going through 30 hours of classtime, 6 hours of behind the wheel...it's horrible.

Drivers ed is offered as a class during school at my highschool. I think im taking it next year just to knock off another 100$ from my insurance. Yes, drivers ed is worth it, if you have the good grades discount with it too:)

i live in michigan, U.S.

 

 

 

segment 1:

 

mine cost about $350. i had 10 days of 2 hour classes. they teach you stuff that's not obvious, stuff that your parents didnt/couldnt teach you. they teach you about defensive driving, about car maintenance, about car inspection, and how to control your vehicle. i also had the 6 hours of driving. the test that you had to take was out of 100 questions. you couldn't get more than 20 wrong. now, in my opinion, even 20 is way too many to get wrong. i got 98/100. most of them were obvious questions if you paid attention.

 

 

 

segment 2: BIGGEST waste of money ever. they just review what you did over segment 1. that cost around $40. it was a 3 day class, 2 hours each day. what a rip off

 

 

 

road test: this was pretty lame, but required for you to get your grandma's pinto on the road without her having to sit shotty. the instructor i had didnt even ask for my 40 hours of driving. i got off lucky.

 

 

 

my personal opinion about it all:

 

well back in my dads days (around the 70s-80s), the school paid for it all. it was free. i think this day and age is just their way of making a quick buck, or in my case, around $500 bucks. drivers training is definately needed, but prepare to give your arm and your left testicle.

i'd only pay $400 for a drivers ed if they made me a drag racer

 

 

 

or maybe tought me how to drift

 

 

 

lol

Driver's Ed here is free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wouldn't take it unless there was some sort of benefit. :-s Like if you take it here, you get a certain amount of money off insurance payments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:-s Where do you live? Because I'm moving there.

As Anesthesia said, here in the UK you can take your test without any lessons and still pass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My cousin never had any lessons, he was just taught by his dad and practiced clutch control by moving cars about in the drive for years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I go with my dad to an old airstrip where you can drive up and down and practice all sorts. So i'm hoping i'll only need 6 or 8 lessons before I can take my test.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDIT: Snap I didn't notice the date when it was posted :oops:

i'm in the uk and i learnt with my dad in my car, if we needed to go anywhere he'd make me drive, but i wasnt any good at the reversing exersises so i had to have a few lessons to teach me them. but i passed my test within 4 months of turning 17. saved quite a lot of money compared to some people, my mate passed her test the other day and she's been learning for just about a year and she's been paying ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã24 an hour and she's had roughly 1 lesson a week.

Oh lord.. Another resurrection of one of my dead threads -.-

 

 

 

I finished drivers ed, and really didn't learn anything other than a little bit about what's under the hood and how it works. Unfortunately I don't plan on becoming a mechanic or even working on my own car so that information is useless. What they should have taught us is how to drive a manual transmission vehicle. Driving an automatic is no problem but I never learned how to drive a manual and they don't even bother to teach you something you really might need some day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a good note, I got my license a few weeks ago :

It's a school requirement here, and it's free though. The teacher is awsome, but all they do is use fear tactics on you. I didn't learn anything really. I'd say it is a waste of time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BUT, it does lower your car insurance rates by a large amount.