While the world of online driver’s ed is full of convenience and has a lot of great and useful information to help people drive confidently and safely, one of the most important things you have to keep in mind is location. True, there is no “geography” on the internet. It’s not a place like your house or that place down the street that used to do a thing called “renting videos” before the age of Netflix came along. But you still live in a home in a city or town located within a specific state.
And while it’s true that some things about learning to drive are universal, such as defensive driving techniques to improve your safety, you’ll benefit the most from an online driving course that actually serves the specific laws and needs of your state. Fortunately, you’re in luck. Plenty of the schools we’ve evaluated and dealt with are certified to give an education for more than one state. It’s just a matter of looking up the specific school you’re interested in and checking to see if they list your state of residence as the ones they serve.
But, you may be wondering, why does this matter so much? If I live in California, but I like how a particular school teaches that’s for Texan residents, and it’s online anyway, who cares if I sign up for that course instead?
Official Recognition
One of the first and most important reasons you want to make sure that a driving school online services your state of residence is that the official support can sometimes be recognized for some nice benefits. Most car insurance companies offer a reduced price for teen drivers who have taken a driver’s ed. A teenager learning to drive might earn a reduction to insurance premiums with a course completion certification from a recognized instructor.
On the adult side of things, if you’ve accumulated too many points, demerits, or whatever type of penalty system is used in your state, one of the ways to clear those negative marks against you is to go to an online traffic school. But, if it’s not one recognized by your state, you’ve just wasted your money, and those negative points are going to remain.
Although states keep their driving laws similar, with the same standards on traffic signals, signs, and road surface markings, they are not precisely the same. States have taken on their own rules and traffic codes while retaining the significant parts. Further, your driver’s license is valid and can be used when driving to other states, and an out-of-state ticket affects your home-state driving record.
However, one of the biggest things simply has to do with the fact that different states have different requirements for getting a driving license. If you live in Texas, for example, getting a driver’s license is NOT the same as getting one for California residents. Want to know what the difference is?
A License The California Way
It’s understood that a California driving school will have a pretty straightforward process. That’s because driving and getting a license in California is relatively simple. If you have any kind of driving experience and have previously held some type of license, you just need to pass a written test and then pass a road test, and that’s it; you’re done.
If you’ve NEVER had a driving license of any kind before, as is the case with teenagers that are just coming of age, it’s still not that big of a deal. Rather than going straight to your driving license, you first MUST acquire a learning permit. The first step is to take a driver’s ed course, whether online or in-person and successfully complete the course. Then you need to have at least six hours of behind-the-wheel training and pass a knowledge test.
You can sit in a car with a learning permit and drive it with another adult license holder in the passenger seat supervising you. This is how you learn to drive and get your experience for safely taking and passing your road test.
However, here’s the thing. The learner’s permit has no minimum time limit. This means that, in theory, if you were like Speed Racer and had driving genius DNA, you could get your learner’s permit, pick up a driving skill in just a matter of hours and apply for a full, regular license the very next day, pass the test and get it.
That’s NOT how it works in Texas.
Lone Star Pace
Young Texan drivers have no choice but to take the slow and steady way to get a license. Texas works under a “graduated” system. The Texas Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) is a program that allows new drivers to get their initial driving experience. This is done under certain conditions that have lower risks and gradually introducing drivers to more complex driving stages. This system aims to provide beginner drivers a chance to improve their driving skills over time through exposure to safe driving environments.
This means that the road to getting a full license is a progression with milestones that need to be met.
Suppose you’re below the age of 18. In that case, you must first get your Learner license, then eventually graduate to a Provisional License, which you must hold and maintain without any serious incidents until you turn 18. Getting that provisional license means attending a recognized Texas driving school. There are conditions on this license, though, such as not being able to drive between 12:00-5:00 am and not carrying more than one passenger under 18 years old. You are also restricted from using your smartphones and other hands-free devices. Once you’re 18, you can apply for a full license, which has none of the provisional license restrictions.
This program is accepted by Texans to ensure that teens fully understand the new responsibilities associated with being legally allowed to drive. GDL is an effective system that helps young drivers improve their driving skills through road education and safe driving habits.
This is why it’s essential to make sure the online driver’s ed course you want to attend services your state. It is necessary to carefully examine the course and the school as each state has its own list of approved driver education providers. It is also essential to check the license and certification status of these online driving schools. If the school is not state-approved or certified, your course completion certificate will not be recognized, and you need to retake from an approved school before getting a learner’s permit or a driver’s license.
If it doesn’t take specific state requirements into account, you could miss out on many important stuff.