If you’re just getting to that age where you’re going to be legal to drive a car and you’re thinking of all the steps you need to take to apply—and get—a driving license, then congratulations. In a lot of ways, you’ve probably come into one of the better times to do this. The way driver’s ed classes work today is pretty different from the way it was for your parents. There are lots of options and many different ways to learn, so really, the big decision any prospective driver needs to face is, which driving school is right for you?
Two Parts, Lots Of Choices
Getting a driving license is just about passing a test, but in order to pass that test, you’ll need to study two parts of the driving process. One is the actual driving itself since there is no better teacher than actual practice. Getting a feel for a car, judging distances, making turns and, of course, parking, are all things that reading or watching videos can help with, but there is still no substitute for actually doing these things.
The other important part, however, is learning the theory. Driving isn’t just about getting a feel for taking corners and applying brakes at the right time, it’s also about understanding how these techniques apply to traffic law. You can be a great driver, but if you can’t remember—and obey—traffic laws, you can’t hold a license. Some traffic law is going to be pretty simple stuff that you don’t need to learn since you probably grew up with it, such as red means “stop” at a traffic light. Other things, like right of way at a four-way stop sign, or how to properly integrate with traffic when you enter a highway, expressway or freeway is something you’ll need to study upon.
Having said that, everyone’s different and everyone’s got a different way of studying. In the same way that some people are better athletes, and other people are better academics, people have different responses to the effectiveness of different teaching methods. So which one is right for you?
Physical versus Online
Some people just prefer reality. A classroom with a teacher you can interact with, other classmates, and a more traditional lecture setting with talks, presentations, and videos may be exactly the kind of environment that a certain type of driver prefers. Of course, going this route, while traditional and still perfectly acceptable, brings with it traditional demands. You have to set aside time during the week to attend the class and you have to factor travel time to and from the school into your schedule for several weeks.
Online schools are very different. Provided you do your research and pick the right one, you still get a quality education that teaches you everything you need to know about traffic law in your state and driver safety in general. One thing that a driving school online has with all the others is the ability to set your own pace. You study when you have the time, you digest the course materials on your own schedule, and you take the tests when you feel ready. For people that have less time, or less regular, reliable schedules—or just don’t feel like traveling—online drivers ed is a great solution. But even here, you’ve still got some choices.
Self-paced learning through an online driving school doesn’t mean that you will be left to your own devices. Most online driving schools will provide you with enough resources to successfully manage and get through learning on your own at home, including progress trackers and study schedules.
To Read Or To Watch
Some people inhale text. There’s nothing wrong with that, literacy is a good skill to have. Others, however, may struggle with a wall of text. Fortunately, there are options available to the prospective driver that appeal to both temperaments.
If you’re the sort that reads very quickly and tears through columns of text, then a more text-based online school is the best choice for you. This way, you can read all the material as quickly as you can handle. It’s quite possible for people with the disposition to tear through online driving school quickly this way. There may still be videos to watch or other interactive elements to go through such as quizzes or tests, but even then, a lot of this is still text-based, so you can process it very quickly.
Schools like Aceable and iDriveSafely offer some of the most interactive learning tools including 3D animations, games, audio, and video resources.
For people that go cross-eyed at having to stare at gigantic columns of letters and information, you have alternatives. Videos and streaming videos have been on the Internet for what seems like forever. Strangely, it’s only in recent years that they’ve started appearing in online driving schools, but better late than never, right?
Some of these schools play it straight and just give you what you need to learn in a way that’s not a wall of text.
It’s still a lot more interesting, with actual voices, videos, and possibly even diagrams and animation, but they’re here to teach you. Others try things a little bit differently. Believe it or not, there are some comedy alternatives to learning how to drive. That doesn’t mean that everything is a joke, or that the content is less useful or informative, but if you need your driving technique to come with some comedy, you’re covered. For an entertaining approach to learning, you can go for Improv Traffic School. We guarantee that there will be no dull learning moment with their hilarious skits and videos.
Money-Back Guarantees
Some folks might be wary of enrolling in online driving schools because of the money involved. You don’t exactly see where your money is going, and that can be scary!
In that case, some online driving schools are backed by a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee or a Pass or Get your Money Back Guarantee. In this way, you don’t ever risk losing your money for services that aren’t worth it.
It will be hard to find classroom driving schools that will offer a money-back guarantee. However, there are several online schools that offer 100% refunds, such as DriverEdToGo.
Access to Resources
Most classroom courses will only offer you hardcopy textbook references. Most of the time, you will even be required to buy a copy of the full printed textbook.
With an online driving school, you can have 24/7 access to all interactive resources 100% online on any device.
The important thing with online driver’s ed is to make sure that the state you live in is properly represented by the online school you’re interested in. Check carefully with the schools that are right here on Traffic School Critics to find out exactly what the school is, how they teach, what kind of prices you’re looking at, and, most importantly, whether this school and completion of its courses will be recognized by your state’s department of motor vehicles. It’s all here for you, don’t worry, we’ve already done the leg work. But the final choice is still up to you.