The Lone Star state may be the biggest state in the country, and it may have the reputation and history for being one of the wildest territories back in the day, but 21st century Texas is far from being a lawless land. This is still a place with a history of progress and achievement.
Their oil supply has certainly created great opportunities for the state to grow, and Austin took everyone by surprise by turning into a nerve center for film and popular culture.
All of this means Texas knows it’s got a good thing going. And it wants to keep it that way, especially when it comes to the road.
So if you’re just about at that age where you’re looking at the wide-open roads of the state and know that pretty soon it’s going to be your turn to get behind the wheel, congratulations. But you’ve still got a bit of work ahead of you.
For one, you still need to get your driver’s license. And that’s where we come in.
One of the best ways to make sure you’re prepared for a license is to start thinking about going to a Texas driving school, and in this article, we’re going to discuss the steps you need to consider before that. Keep on reading to learn more.
Check Out All of Our Online Driver’s Ed Course Reviews for Texas Here!
The Graduated System
Since 2002, the state has thrown in a few extra steps on the road to getting your license, especially if you’re under the age of 18. This is known as the graduate driver’s license program, or GDL for short. This is the Texan way of saying “You’re old enough to make some choices for yourself, buuuuut… we’ll see. Try this first, don’t screw up, then we’ll talk. And yes, we’ll be watching.”
The graduated system, as the name implies, is about slowly opening up your freedoms and privileges with a car. That may sound like a bore—and for some, it will be—but we have to face facts here. A car is a huge, scary piece of machinery that you’re hurtling down the asphalt at dozens of miles per hour. When it gets into a hitting contest with something unless that something is a long-distance hauling truck, a train, or that 100-year-old tree at your grandmother’s house, the car is usually going to win. Part of the graduated system is to see whether or not you enter into that kind of hitting contest frequently, and if the answer is “yes,” then there’s going to be a problem.
For most teens, the first phase of this is getting the Learner License. Once you get it, it’s good until your 18th birthday. The Learner License is what will let you get in your initial practice. You’ll need an adult in the car with you, while you’re doing this. You’ll also need to present some kind of certificate proving that you’ve had driving instruction which can come from three sources:
- A driving school: We’ll get into this one in more detail later.
- Verification that you were taught by a parent.
- High School Driving Course: Self-explanatory, if your school offers one, and you’re taking it, you’re good to go on completion.
All three forms of driving education require the presentation of a Texas Driver Education Certificate DE-964. The parental education route also requires a DL-90A affidavit.
The Provisional License
This is the next step. Assuming you held your Learner License—without incident—for six months, you can eventually move up to the provisional license. You’ll need to be at least 16 years old, get more training, pass a driving test, and complete an Impact Texas Teen Drivers Course. If you meet all of these requirements, your provisional license will allow you to drive on your own.
There are still a few restrictions here. You can only drive with one other passenger under the age of 21 that isn’t a member of your family, and you can’t drive between midnight and 5 am, unless it is for work purposes. You also can’t use any type of phone while driving, not even a hands-free smartphone until you are 18 unless there’s an emergency. Of course, once you get a full driving license, none of these restrictions apply.
Your Driver’s Education
Fortunately for young Texan drivers, there are a LOT of options available for Texas drivers ed. With the proper certification, your parents can even be the ones to teach you (if your school offers it as an option). There are courses out there that allow that, and then there are driver’s ed classes being offered by businesses that specialize in driving education.
One of the best parts of all this—and probably one of the reasons why you’re here—is that the theory component of your driving education doesn’t have to be in a classroom. There are plenty of online driver’s ed courses that are certified and approved for Texan drivers. As long as you do your research, and ensure that the school you’re interested in covers Texas traffic law, you don’t have to make your way to a physical classroom. You can do everything at home, on your computer, on your own time, and still get the necessary certification.
Once you’re done with that, you’ll still need to get in the actual driving practice of course, but your classes are important. Driving may be instinctual for some, but traffic law isn’t.
Where to Find the Best Online Driver’s Ed School in Texas?
Trafficschoolcritics.com has one of the most complete and comprehensive lists and reviews of online driving schools that teen Texan drivers can study to make sure they’re taking all the right steps to get behind the wheel and start driving responsibly.
To give you some examples, here is a short review of four of the best online driver’s ed schools in Texas that we recommend:
Aceable
Teens would find Aceable’s course truly appealing – they have gone beyond expectations in veering away from the traditional in-classroom sessions. With their unique app alone, its responsive design, and cool features, you can’t help but be impressed at how they have modernized driver’s education. You won’t even need a laptop to complete the course, everything can be done using your mobile device.
The app has been approved in Texas as a replacement for the in-person driver’s ed, so rest assured that you can meet your driver’s ed requirements to be eligible to apply for your learner’s permit. Yes, you can finish the course at the comforts of your home with Aceable, and you get to enjoy interactive content that includes video lessons and memes.
And if you’re having trouble following the course curriculum, you’ll have Ace, Aceable’s endearing bot, to guide you through it.
DriversEd
DriversEd’s online driver’s education has a 99% passing rate, so it’s no wonder a lot of students are enrolling in their courses. This, and the fact that they are one of the pioneers of driver’s education in the US, you can trust that this school can bring you closer to acquiring your learner’s permit.
DriversEd also offers their course through a mobile app (not as modern as Aceable’s interface, though) which you can access any time, wherever you are. You can also switch between devices because they have this cool auto-sync feature that saves your progress every time you log out. You can resume the course exactly where you left off as soon as you come back.
MyImprov
I’d say MyImprov’s course is for fun-loving visual learners. So if you are someone like that, taking the course from MyImprov will not only bring out the best of laughs in any driver’s ed course but also the hilarious comedy skits and jokes will help you remember the important driving concepts and rules. You need to retain the information to pass your knowledge test or written exam.
MyImprov’s “edutainment” style of teaching is the only course that is backed by science and fueled by fun. This means they have gone through intensive research to prove that using entertainment to educate students is integral to changing a student’s attitude towards driving. It also improves a student’s memory retention rate.
iDriveSafely
Remember I mentioned that some courses allow your parents to teach you driving? iDriveSafely’s Texas parent-taught course offers that (same with Aceable). So, if you’ll feel more comfortable learning the rules of the road with your parents by your side, go with this school.
iDriveSafely’s regularly updated course curriculum has everything your parents need to teach you everything about driving. They have a database that’s full of resources for you and your parents, too.
So, there you have it – our four most recommended schools for online driver’s ed in Texas.
Read our reviews, find out which one is the right style and price for you, and then start learning to drive the right way. Being able to drive opens up a lot of opportunities, but it needs to be taken seriously. Driving can be fun and productive, but it can also be dangerous. This is one more step into an adult world, you have to treat it that way.