Anonymous
09/18/2022 09:48
Subject: Re:Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
We used I Drive Smart, and I agree their flexibility and online scheduler were nice features. I also liked how their classroom sessions were mostly held at various MCPS sites, and their behind the wheel sessions were in neighborhoods closeby, so it was easier to get to and from.
Anonymous
09/18/2022 09:41
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:She has to 15 and 9 month before she can get her learner’s permit. The permit classes aren’t required and in our experience aren’t necessary. She can access the manual and a test tutorial on the MVA website, and my kids didn’t find the test to be difficult.
After getting the permit, instruction/practice from parents should start right away, as well as drivers ed. Drivers ed has a classroom component (which some driving schools may still offer online) and 6 hours of in-car instruction. In our experience, the instructors want the kids to be pretty far along in their driving practice before doing the in-car. That may vary by instructor. Definitely don’t wait for her to complete drivers ed before you begin driving practice with her.
And think of the 60 hours as a bare minimum - you really want your kid to get a lot more driving practice than that.
She is eligible to take the driving test 9 months after getting her permit, as long as she’s completed driving school and the required practice hours. So, 16.5 would be the youngest.
Thanks! So are all driving schools the same quality/cost? Or are there certain ones that are more highly recommended but maybe more expensive?
There are differences in cost I drive smart is the more expensive. Personally I think the 60 hours with a parent where the actual learning is. The class is very regulated.
Yeah pretty much state give-away to retired cops.
Anonymous
09/18/2022 09:28
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
We went with Greg’s for our older child, then IDS with second child. Greg’s class instructor seemed very unprofessional compared to IDS. Both had content full of doom and gloom horror stories and content meant to shock the teenagers. Really, did they need to show the video of the person getting impaled on a fence post? Our son did. It like the Greg’s driving instructor. Said he was lecturing and condescending and insisting he drive with his hands at 5 and 7 on the steering wheel. So we went with IDS for the second kid. She hasn’t had her in-car lessons yet, but hopefully she get someone better.
Anonymous
09/18/2022 09:25
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
Anonymous wrote:We used I Drive Smart and didn’t think it was worth a premium for various reasons but IDS seems active on this board given the weird posts boosting them and criticising others that show up eventually on these threads.
I didn’t use IDS. The curriculum is set by the MVA. So it’s the same information no matter who teaches. It was >$500 more than the classes I sent my kids to.
Anonymous
09/18/2022 09:08
Subject: Re:Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
IDS was worth it for us just for the flexibility …miss a class? need to reschedule a drive lesson? Kid decides to put off driving for a year? … All of these are done with relative ease using the online scheduler.
Anonymous
09/18/2022 09:03
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
You can definitely take the classroom portion of drivers ed before the learners. Mine did it 2-3 months before. My kids felt it helped with the permit test and that way you can schedule it at the most convenient time. My daughter did it over her winter break which meant she had no conflicts and got it out of the way much more quickly (it met more frequently).
We did IDS. I have no experience with Greg’s to say if it’s good or bad but many of the kids’ friends used them and said it’s cheaper. We chose IDS because they came highly recommended and we liked the idea of learning directly from police officers. My kids thought the driving instructors were very helpful and I was impressed with those I spoke to. They really had some interesting perspectives based on their experiences. One took my daughter to areas they see lots of accidents (pedestrians, difficult merges, etc) to make sure she knew what sorts of hazards to look out for. Both of my kids were anxious about driving but gained a lot of confidence in the sessions.
We did IDS. I have no experience with Greg’s to say if it’s good or bad but many of the kids’ friends used them and said it’s cheaper. We chose IDS because they came highly recommended and we liked the idea of learning directly from police officers. My kids thought the driving instructors were very helpful and I was impressed with those I spoke to. They really had some interesting perspectives based on their experiences. One took my daughter to areas they see lots of accidents (pedestrians, difficult merges, etc) to make sure she knew what sorts of hazards to look out for. Both of my kids were anxious about driving but gained a lot of confidence in the sessions.
Anonymous
09/18/2022 08:52
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
I signed up my kid at Habesha Driving school in downtown Bethesda and unfortunately cannot recommend them. The instructor always arrived late and once made my son drive to the supermarket while he shopped for his mother, then drive to her nursing home. They ended the lesson 45 minutes late.
Anonymous
09/18/2022 08:48
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
We used I Drive Smart and didn’t think it was worth a premium for various reasons but IDS seems active on this board given the weird posts boosting them and criticising others that show up eventually on these threads.
Anonymous
09/18/2022 06:31
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
Greg's Driving - Cheapest
Potomac Driving - Moderate
I Drive Smart - Expensive
People rave about I Drive Smart because it's taught by police officers. The curriculum is the SAME and the kids will complain about any and all of them (boring, waste of time, etc.). If you need flexibility, meaning your kid will miss 2 classes and need to make them up, I Drive Smart is the only one that allows that.
We did classroom, then lerner's permit, then 60 hours with us, then the 3 in-car sessions, then actual DL. Worked for our 3 kids, all of whom passed the test the first time (one during the pandemic, the other two prior).
Potomac Driving - Moderate
I Drive Smart - Expensive
People rave about I Drive Smart because it's taught by police officers. The curriculum is the SAME and the kids will complain about any and all of them (boring, waste of time, etc.). If you need flexibility, meaning your kid will miss 2 classes and need to make them up, I Drive Smart is the only one that allows that.
We did classroom, then lerner's permit, then 60 hours with us, then the 3 in-car sessions, then actual DL. Worked for our 3 kids, all of whom passed the test the first time (one during the pandemic, the other two prior).
Anonymous
09/18/2022 06:01
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:She has to 15 and 9 month before she can get her learner’s permit. The permit classes aren’t required and in our experience aren’t necessary. She can access the manual and a test tutorial on the MVA website, and my kids didn’t find the test to be difficult.
After getting the permit, instruction/practice from parents should start right away, as well as drivers ed. Drivers ed has a classroom component (which some driving schools may still offer online) and 6 hours of in-car instruction. In our experience, the instructors want the kids to be pretty far along in their driving practice before doing the in-car. That may vary by instructor. Definitely don’t wait for her to complete drivers ed before you begin driving practice with her.
And think of the 60 hours as a bare minimum - you really want your kid to get a lot more driving practice than that.
She is eligible to take the driving test 9 months after getting her permit, as long as she’s completed driving school and the required practice hours. So, 16.5 would be the youngest.
Thanks! So are all driving schools the same quality/cost? Or are there certain ones that are more highly recommended but maybe more expensive?
There are differences in cost I drive smart is the more expensive. Personally I think the 60 hours with a parent where the actual learning is. The class is very regulated.
Anonymous
09/17/2022 23:53
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
Anonymous wrote:She has to 15 and 9 month before she can get her learner’s permit. The permit classes aren’t required and in our experience aren’t necessary. She can access the manual and a test tutorial on the MVA website, and my kids didn’t find the test to be difficult.
After getting the permit, instruction/practice from parents should start right away, as well as drivers ed. Drivers ed has a classroom component (which some driving schools may still offer online) and 6 hours of in-car instruction. In our experience, the instructors want the kids to be pretty far along in their driving practice before doing the in-car. That may vary by instructor. Definitely don’t wait for her to complete drivers ed before you begin driving practice with her.
And think of the 60 hours as a bare minimum - you really want your kid to get a lot more driving practice than that.
She is eligible to take the driving test 9 months after getting her permit, as long as she’s completed driving school and the required practice hours. So, 16.5 would be the youngest.
Thanks! So are all driving schools the same quality/cost? Or are there certain ones that are more highly recommended but maybe more expensive?
Anonymous
09/17/2022 23:33
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
Anonymous wrote:She has to 15 and 9 month before she can get her learner’s permit. The permit classes aren’t required and in our experience aren’t necessary. She can access the manual and a test tutorial on the MVA website, and my kids didn’t find the test to be difficult.
After getting the permit, instruction/practice from parents should start right away, as well as drivers ed. Drivers ed has a classroom component (which some driving schools may still offer online) and 6 hours of in-car instruction. In our experience, the instructors want the kids to be pretty far along in their driving practice before doing the in-car. That may vary by instructor. Definitely don’t wait for her to complete drivers ed before you begin driving practice with her.
And think of the 60 hours as a bare minimum - you really want your kid to get a lot more driving practice than that.
She is eligible to take the driving test 9 months after getting her permit, as long as she’s completed driving school and the required practice hours. So, 16.5 would be the youngest.
This is a good overview. Technically I believe students don't have to have gotten the permit to do the classroom part of drivers ed. (One of my kids took the class then got the permit, while the other got the permit then took the class.) They both chose to do the classroom component for two weeks of the summer, though there are options to spread it out over 5 or 10 weekends.
Anonymous
09/17/2022 23:24
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
She has to 15 and 9 month before she can get her learner’s permit. The permit classes aren’t required and in our experience aren’t necessary. She can access the manual and a test tutorial on the MVA website, and my kids didn’t find the test to be difficult.
After getting the permit, instruction/practice from parents should start right away, as well as drivers ed. Drivers ed has a classroom component (which some driving schools may still offer online) and 6 hours of in-car instruction. In our experience, the instructors want the kids to be pretty far along in their driving practice before doing the in-car. That may vary by instructor. Definitely don’t wait for her to complete drivers ed before you begin driving practice with her.
And think of the 60 hours as a bare minimum - you really want your kid to get a lot more driving practice than that.
She is eligible to take the driving test 9 months after getting her permit, as long as she’s completed driving school and the required practice hours. So, 16.5 would be the youngest.
After getting the permit, instruction/practice from parents should start right away, as well as drivers ed. Drivers ed has a classroom component (which some driving schools may still offer online) and 6 hours of in-car instruction. In our experience, the instructors want the kids to be pretty far along in their driving practice before doing the in-car. That may vary by instructor. Definitely don’t wait for her to complete drivers ed before you begin driving practice with her.
And think of the 60 hours as a bare minimum - you really want your kid to get a lot more driving practice than that.
She is eligible to take the driving test 9 months after getting her permit, as long as she’s completed driving school and the required practice hours. So, 16.5 would be the youngest.
Anonymous
09/17/2022 23:14
Subject: Re:Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
MCPS doesn't teach driving any more. Hasn't in years.
Anonymous
09/17/2022 23:00
Subject: Driver's Ed - learner's permit, instruction, etc.
Doing some online research to figure out when DD should start taking driver's ed classes. There's information online but it's a little confusing.
DD is a freshman and will be 15 next spring (2023). Can she start applying for a learner's permit then?
When/where can she take classes? I see that Montgomery College has them, and before the pandemic a few high schools offered them. It looks like there are learner's permit prep classes (10 hours), plus driver's ed classes (36 hours). Are both required? And would she take them sophomore year? Or the summer before or summer after?
Then, I guess after the driver's ed course, she'd spend 60 hours driving while supervised by us, her parents, before she can take the driving test for the provisional license?
Any details from experience parents would help!
DD is a freshman and will be 15 next spring (2023). Can she start applying for a learner's permit then?
When/where can she take classes? I see that Montgomery College has them, and before the pandemic a few high schools offered them. It looks like there are learner's permit prep classes (10 hours), plus driver's ed classes (36 hours). Are both required? And would she take them sophomore year? Or the summer before or summer after?
Then, I guess after the driver's ed course, she'd spend 60 hours driving while supervised by us, her parents, before she can take the driving test for the provisional license?
Any details from experience parents would help!