Drivers in the state of Virginia and D.C. can be described no other way than treacherous. As many that have obtained their license from Virginia know, it is a very lengthy process of learning the rules of the road. It consists of a required driver’s education class, DMV road knowledge testing and a seven-day-long behind-the-wheel course with two days of testing. This is a great deal of effort for seemingly little results.
I previously lived in Florida, where the guidelines are a little more lax. Rather than an extensive course, students take a drugs, alcohol, traffic and awareness online course at home. Then you take a trip down to the DMV and take a road knowledge test, and you only need to get an 80 percent passing score. A year after your permit admission date, there is a single driving test in your own comfy car with no assessment of such an important skill as parallel parking.
Knowing the drastically different intensities of driver preparation programs in different states, you’d think I now feel safer on the road, but this isn’t the case. Day after day I see reckless driving and car accidents around me. So my idea of safety isn’t due to my driving knowledge and etiquette, but of those around me.
I have a slightly different circumstance than some students in Virginia in that I took the entirety of the driver’s education course online. Some assume that online courses are easier, but they’re mistaken. To complete this driver’s education course, I had to read extensive PowerPoints that were monitored and take a quiz every few slides.
It was exhausting, especially on top of my busy schedule, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I feel extremely well-versed in the laws that keep me safe. Yeah, some of my knowledge may be more extensive than I need, like how to keep my engine from overheating in the desert. But I think it’s important for any young driver to feel as confident in their driver’s ed knowledge as I do, and I’m not necessarily sure the in-class curriculum achieves this. I would highly recommend choosing the online option rather than the in-class course, if only to prevent the possibility of glazed eyes and missed information. Our lives are, after all, in our hands.