I hope you have found this series on “What About Driver’s Ed?” helpful, especially for those of you who homeschool.
Here’s the recap…

Laying the Ground Rules highlights the importance of giving thoughtful consideration to the expectations, restrictions and consequences for your new driver before he or she ever gets behind the wheel. Putting them in writing in the form of a “Parent/Teen Agreement” can save a lot of headaches and potential heartaches later.

Mechanics of Safe Driving underlines the need to include the more practical side of Driver’s Ed. Teaching your child preventative measures Read the rest of this entry »

There are a number of Driver’s Ed courses listed online. I have done significant searching to find the courses that can be done from home, making them ideal for your homeschool setting.

With the exception of one, I don’t have personal experience with any of these. I looked at pricing, state info availability, awards, testimonials, etc. I have listed them in no particular order. So without further ado, here they are!

Rules of the Road: A Complete Driver’s Ed Course on DVD (not CD ROM)
Price: 34.95
Money-back Guarantee: 15 day money-back guarantee
State Requirements: Yes
State Approval Information: Yes, comes on the DVD
Certification of Completion: Unable to locate this information

Seven Interactive Lessons

1. Driving Basics
2. City and Residential Driving
3. The Driver’s Exam
4. Highway Driving
5. Safety Tips for Normal Conditions
6. Hazardous Conditions
7. Drug and Alcohol Awareness

Special Features include:

• 3D Illustrations
• Basic Maintenance
• In Case of Emergency
• Printable Learning Guide
• Spanish & English Subtitles
• Practice Tests
• Multiple Choice questions
• Road Sign Test
• Virtual Driver

Comments: Has received many rewards and recognition Read the rest of this entry »

Today you’ll find several good and free online resources for teaching Driver’s Education. These resources are perfect for homeschooled teens.

Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) by Ford
Driving Skills for Life is a free comprehensive Driver’s Ed program. DSFL covers the following four driving skills:

1. Hazard Recognition
2. Vehicle Handling
3. Speed Management
4. Space Management

Learning tools include:

• Four study modules, a quiz, car care videos, interactive games, and enhanced curriculum noting the importance of eco-driving to personal safety and the environment.
• Free Educator Packet that can be used by students and parents at home, as well as educators in the classroom and community settings. Packet includes an in-depth DVD focusing on each of the four driving skills listed above, a letter for parents, a letter for educators, a leader’s guide, brochures, and cards. Materials are available in English and Spanish. Read the rest of this entry »

What effect does completion of a drivers education program have on insurance rates? The answer? It depends primarily on the insurance company and your state’s requirements. However, completion of the right driver’s ed program can qualify you for an insurance discount, usually between 15-20%.

From personal experience, it really pays to shop around as rates can vary dramatically! Here’s our “story in a nutshell”.

When my homeschooled granddaughter was ready to get her license, we began checking insurance rates for an older car. We were looking only for the mandatory liability insurance. Her mom would be the primary driver, my granddaughter the secondary occasional driver.

We began our search with the insurance agent we had been with for over 10 years and for the barest minimum coverage the quote was 1200 dollars per year. WHOA!!! We continued on our quest, checking other local companies and then the big online insurance names. Quotes ranged from 1000-2200 dollars per year! I was shocked & depressed!

As a last resort, Read the rest of this entry »

If you are teaching your teen to drive as part of their home education, there are some important things to include in their driver’s education. These practical tips can prevent many problems and prepare your teen to deal with them safely.

Did you know that 535 fatal crashes each year are due to tire blowouts or flat tires? That surprised me. This information comes from a short quiz, Test Your Road Knowledge by Toyota and is what got me thinking about adding this post’s topic, the “mechanics” of safe driving.

In addition to teaching your teen how to drive safely and giving them the plenty of opportunities for supervised on-road experience (driving at night, in the rain, on slippery roads, fast highways, etc.), there are other factors, more practical and preventative in nature, that will help them to be safe on the road. Read the rest of this entry »

In my last post I mentioned a few sobering statistics re: new teen drivers, states GDL’s and some insurance questions to ask about before your teen gets their learner’s permit.

It doesn’t matter if you teen is homeschooled or in a traditional school setting, determining your ground rules ahead of time will ease much of the tension that is inherent when your child becomes a new driver. The old adage, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, applies.

Here are some ideas & questions to get the discussion ball rolling: Read the rest of this entry »

Sooner or later every home educating parent is going to have to deal with the subject of Driver’s Ed. Like it or not, it’s part of life in our culture. When we found ourselves on the threshold of this milestone, I was scared and clueless with a capital “C”!

I came up with a simple solution… Get a horse. Yes, we’d have to pay for feed, but compared to the price of gas, why it could be a real savings Just think of all the responsibility she’d learn! And we won’t have to worry about a horseload of passengers or speeding tickets. But.. there is the clean up….never mind

OK, obviously, I’m kidding, but there are times when the horse sounds like a good solution- not nearly so scary as putting your precious child behind the wheel of a car. Read the rest of this entry »