American Basic driver education and beyond (Poll)/Discussion

[Necronus]

I chose "Other" cause I never took a course. I just drove around with my mom teaching me. And by "teaching" I mean we just drove around the nearby blocks for 15-20 minutes every few days. Never even touched highway until I had my licence, and only touched one main road with traffic lights in a couple sessions.

Edit: Oh, and I first started learning at 17. Prior to that I never operated any kind of motorized vehicle. Got my licence before I turned 18.

[chiyio]

I grew up in middle of nowhere Idaho till i was 15 (closest town was Preston of Napoleon Dynamite fame).

For drivers Ed I think we drove twice, *maybe* three times. mostly on the highway, with a couple trips back and forth through the single stoplight in town, heh.

Since I'd known how to drive since I was 7-8 wasn't really a big deal. Everybody drives super young out there.

[Acevalefor]

Since I'd known how to drive since I was 7-8 wasn't really a big deal. Everybody drives super young out there.

Same kind of thing where I grew up. We usually had the young kids that couldn't pick up the 70 pound hay bails drive the truck in the field for us, then the older kids (12-15 years old) would drive from the fields to the barn. Also, it wasn't uncommon for mom to send you the 8 miles to the local market for random grocery items. Seeing kids sitting on phone books driving chevy 1-tons through town was a common sight.

[Byrthnoth]

Yeah, that's how it was in Nebraska.

In Delaware, we were supposed to drive 7 times with the driving instructor and watch 7 times, but you were supposed to keep track for yourself. Then we took a ridiculously easy test essentially unsupervised (hurr, 8-sided sign, what is it?) and they gave us licenses. Some of my friends had never driven when they got their licenses. One of them is essentially just learning to drive now, because he got his license, graduated high school and went to college where he had no car and walked all the time, and now he's out of college and figuring out how to drive.

[Restrat]

There no option for "took a test on a computer and got a license"

[Pringles]

I had to take a half a semester course in drivers Ed in high school and also then had to take a behind the wheel portion outside that basically tested you on your general driving knowledge/skill and once you passed you got a carbon paper license to tide you over until the real one was made. To take it your parents basically had to sign off saying you had a minimum of 20 hours daytime driving experience and 10 hours of night time.

The behind the wheel was a joke, it consisted of driving around and stopping at traffic lights and one trip on the highway. The guy told me day one the only way I would fail the class was speeding, running a red light or hitting a curb. Course was supposed to be 7 days of 45 minutes driving each day, final day being the "final test" and I asked him if I could test out early because I worked day 4-7 and he tested me and passed me on day 3.

[brisk]

The drivers ed course I took during the summer between freshmen and sophomore year was a complete joke. Like its been stated, everything is common sense from the get go. I learned more from the 4 months preceding the class driving with my parents around the area than the classroom. Only reason I had to take the course was so I can have my driver's license when I turn 16 and not wait until I turn 18.

[*Shinzon*]

Man I'm loving these responses. Maybe states wouldn't be so broke if they weren't constantly cleaning up peoples car crashes.

[volcanicweather]

I had a bit of a strange driving history. Got my permit when I was 15 but because I grew up pretty poor and my mom was really weird about letting me drive her Jeep so I didn't practice much. I was given an old Cutlass Supreme from my grandma for free when I was 17, it was so old the odometer only went up to 99,999 and had already been rolled over TWICE. Still that was a fun car to drive and it took me a long time to learn how to drive again. First time I took my test it was on the city streets (small town) and I cut someone off almost causing and accident. The second time I took it on a closed course with my dad in Minneapolis using his car... failed because I turned from the wrong lane on a one-way. The third time I barely passed by a couple of points and it was really more of a "pity pass" because of how many times I tried and failed. I obviously became better over time and eased into driving.

For those of you who say you drive "aggressive all the time", I think that's really dangerous or maybe I'm not really understanding what you mean. Growing up in Minnesota people drove like idiots but they drove slow and cautiously for the most part because of driving in inclement weather for most of the year. Living in Texas now people here drive insane and there are tons of accidents. I just don't understand how people here can follow 5 feet behind the car in front of them while going 70 mph or maybe I just don't put that much trust in the random stranger in front of me that they won't slam on their breaks. One thing that has become essential for me when driving is to drive a car with some horsepower - I don't think I would drive anything with an engine smaller than a V6. Just the ability to fly past idiots on the road when merging or get away from assriders is a godsend.

My girlfriend though has quite the American driver story. She grew up in major cities her whole life (parents didn't think license was important) and used public transportation until we decided to leave Minneapolis for Dallas. She flunked her driver's test 4 times and was pity passed on the 5th time because she didn't commit a horrible mistake on her test. She was 23. After trying to function in Dallas without a car she caved and got one... a newer Ford Focus. She almost crashed on her test drive and her first night driving home from the dealership took 3 hours (normally a 30 minute drive). On top of that she ran into the gate on the apartment we were living at, damaging the gate and her front bumper. She got in a couple other minor accidents in the next few months, but she's eventually learned to drive after a 30+ minute commute to work everyday. But man, people talk about teenagers being bad... there are adults out there that are horrible as well.

[Dantrag]

I've done basic driving and Motorcycle Safety course. I'll tell you what though. Being on a bike will(should) change the way you drive. Shit's completely different when you don't have a steel frame surrounding your ass and there's a ton of retards out. Fucking people that ride in open toe shoes, shorts, no jackets or helmets are just asking for it. Love to watch people that are "squids" on bikes, get your feet up noobs...

[OWS_Tonx]

I took driving school as an elective in High School, but I was to afraid to drive at first tbh. Didn't get my license until I was 18 by choice. I was scared the first few times, but I got comfortable fast. I don't mean to pat my own back, but I'm pretty fucking good driver. I give credit to my dad since he's like Speed Racer and shit as well as him teaching me when I was younger by going offroading/driving back roads and such.It's different though when you're in the streets for the first time by yourself and you see the stupid shit people do. Puts a completely different perspective on shit. Only have 1 speeding ticket (lol @ going 74 on an empty road when speed limit's 55), while my brother who's still in HS has been in 2 wrecks that he was responsible for + a couple speeding tickets.

[Melena]

Anyone remember watching the Red Asphalt tapes when you took drivers ed? I remember taking bets on how many people would puke when they scooped the brains into a bag.

[SephYuyX]

The US is doing away with parallel parking as part of testing and learning.

[*Shinzon*]

I had a bit of a strange driving history. Got my permit when I was 15 but because I grew up pretty poor and my mom was really weird about letting me drive her Jeep so I didn't practice much. I was given an old Cutlass Supreme from my grandma for free when I was 17, it was so old the odometer only went up to 99,999 and had already been rolled over TWICE. Still that was a fun car to drive and it took me a long time to learn how to drive again. First time I took my test it was on the city streets (small town) and I cut someone off almost causing and accident. The second time I took it on a closed course with my dad in Minneapolis using his car... failed because I turned from the wrong lane on a one-way. The third time I barely passed by a couple of points and it was really more of a "pity pass" because of how many times I tried and failed. I obviously became better over time and eased into driving.

For those of you who say you drive "aggressive all the time", I think that's really dangerous or maybe I'm not really understanding what you mean. Growing up in Minnesota people drove like idiots but they drove slow and cautiously for the most part because of driving in inclement weather for most of the year. Living in Texas now people here drive insane and there are tons of accidents. I just don't understand how people here can follow 5 feet behind the car in front of them while going 70 mph or maybe I just don't put that much trust in the random stranger in front of me that they won't slam on their breaks. One thing that has become essential for me when driving is to drive a car with some horsepower - I don't think I would drive anything with an engine smaller than a V6. Just the ability to fly past idiots on the road when merging or get away from assriders is a godsend.

My girlfriend though has quite the American driver story. She grew up in major cities her whole life (parents didn't think license was important) and used public transportation until we decided to leave Minneapolis for Dallas. She flunked her driver's test 4 times and was pity passed on the 5th time because she didn't commit a horrible mistake on her test. She was 23. After trying to function in Dallas without a car she caved and got one... a newer Ford Focus. She almost crashed on her test drive and her first night driving home from the dealership took 3 hours (normally a 30 minute drive). On top of that she ran into the gate on the apartment we were living at, damaging the gate and her front bumper. She got in a couple other minor accidents in the next few months, but she's eventually learned to drive after a 30+ minute commute to work everyday. But man, people talk about teenagers being bad... there are adults out there that are horrible as well.

Driving aggressively isn't the same as driving dangerously. What I mean by driving aggressively is that you treat everyone on the road as unknown. You never let anyone on the road dictate how behave. Driving with a plan is a better way really of saying it. It's what you essentially learn when learning to ride a motorcycle. People take driving for granted because of all the government safety regulations placed on cars. In a car you're protected by the chassis, air bags and tons of stuff so that if you make a mistake there's a cushion. Unlike when on a bike if you have an accident it's 90% likely you're going to have injury to some part of your body. Well if you drive like nothing can hurt you, you're bound to have a massive accident.

[Ashmada]

Well most people will be happy being driven by google's driverless cars in the future, but you'll have to pry my hands off the wheel, fuck that noise.

You're far from an isolated case.
Problem is, people's approach to driving is, like many things, too polarized:
- On one hand, you've got the half-dead hordes of slow drivers that can't be bothered to pay attention to anything (very infuriating and sometimes dangerous), epitomized by the oddly numerous people that do 70 (kph, ~44mph) everywhere, regardless of the actual limit, be it 50 (~31) or 120 (~75)... seriously, it's like they can't be bothered to move their foot an inch! These people are sometimes dangerous, but always infuriating.
Being stuck behind one is like a preview of what it's like to be 85yo.

- On the other hand, you've got the reckless idiots who are going to kill people sooner or later. My brother's one of those: his idea of "drink-driving" involves stopping at a service station to buy us beers on each and every trip... and he drinks his (leaving only one hand for the wheel and gear stick) while driving as recklessly as possible. If he had an M3 instead of his regular 3-series, he'd be dead by now.
(I've done my share of reckless driving myself, but I'm done with that. Nearly running over a pedestrian is quite sobering. A lot more than a crash)

But like many things, there's a middleground to be found. Plenty of areas where speeding isn't that dangerous. Plenty more where you can have fun at relatively low speeds: when there's no black ice a quick acceleration out of a slow bend is quite safe, afterall (assuming your car isn't french).
You don't even need a fast car to have fun, though it helps.

[Amelya]

Took a half a semester class in high school, passed a written test to get a temp license. Then there was another summer class which covered driving stick and other basic knowledge on a simulation machine, and actually driving around with an instructor. I can't recall how many classes/hours it was. I think my parents had to sign something that they had spent so many hours with me behind the wheel as well.

Totaled my parent's nice car two weeks after getting my license. Note to self, don't let the inexperienced driver have the V8 rear wheel drive car in the rain. Haven't had an accident that was my fault or any type of ticket since that though (knock on wood). I did T-bone someone a couple years ago but it was their fault as they failed to yield.

[Talint]

State, type of extra learning you want to do? The video I posted on the first page in OP is of the Audi Club of America in conjunction with a winter driver education course. Those usually move from state to state as the club does different events for their members but usually nonmembers can get the information and sign up.

For say, extreme high performance driving, there's a lot of clubs that do it and the most notable race training program in the states is Skip Barber. There is also the O'neil rally school of driving where Travis Pastrana learned to drive rally cars and off road racing. Also worth taking a look at local race track events because sometimes they'll list when they have those types of events/driver education courses and you can call and ask for information.

Florida.

I had assumed, like, there was a natural progression of these things, as opposed to scattered bits here and there. Advanced car control course, then possibly high performance/rally car course.

[*Shinzon*]

Florida.

I had assumed, like, there was a natural progression of these things, as opposed to scattered bits here and there. Advanced car control course, then possibly high performance/rally car course.

There's no right way to take these courses, or rather there's no progression to take them in because a lot of them share techniques and goals in common. A google search for "Car control course" brought up not for profit courses in Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami and Orlando. So you can start there. As for high performance driving, Check Skip Barber's website, I'm not sure if they run courses in FL I think they might at some of the race tracks down there. Also check out the Daytona tracks and keep an eye on their events. FL is a pretty good state for the car guys since it's a warm weather state and there's generally a lot going on down there. If I can think of anything other than Skip Barber I'll repost it in this thread.

[Dmitry]

I've only taken basic driver's ed in high school and the MSC. I feel like I'm a good driver though.

I've had 2 collisions and 1 ticket. The first collision was an elderly lady who slammed on her brakes in the rain because she was about to miss a turn. It appeared as if she decided at the last minute to turn. I managed to slow down enough where there wasn't damage to either car (mine has rubber pads on the front fortunately).

The 2nd one was also in the rain, and also sucked. A guy was hauling what looked like gas cylinders in a pickup and somehow they came out and were on the road. I live right where the 2 lane highway/road through town becomes 1 lane again, and it wasn't very long after they finished the work, so a lot of people would still drive on both lanes and try to merge. I didn't see the canisters on the road, just the lady in the minivan in front of me slam on her brakes. I managed to stop without hitting her, but I was right against the median, and the elderly man behind me didn't have anywhere to go. Luckily the canister man's insurance covered that.

My speeding ticket was sorta bullshit. I was speeding, but not as high as the cop said I was. I was cited for 62 in a 45, but I know I wasn't going more than 50-52. I didn't feel like I could fight it under the circumstances, so I was careful for a while while I paid it off.

I feel like I'm a decent driver for having been driving my car for a few years in all sorts of weather. I'm comfortable driving it when there's lots of snow or rain while I've passed others going way under the speed limit in those conditions (I know driving conditions dictate speed, but I don't go above what I can handle). I also like to push my car on roads I know well, like the back roads from my school to home. I think one thing more advanced courses would be good for is to let people find what their limits are so they don't drive above them.

[BaneTheBrawler]

I also had only the basic high-school Driver's Ed. I'm a decent driver, but aside from slippery/snowy roads, my skills haven't really been tested. My eyesight is pretty funky, and my peripheral vision is mostly motion-based, so I think I'm probably more susceptible to nighttime animal crushing than most, though I haven't hit anything yet (knock on wood).

When it comes to daytime driving and traffic laws and whatnot, I think I'm an excellent driver. Not the best navigator, though. I've been in two accidents and gotten one ticket in the 7 years I've been driving. The first accident was right after I got my license. I was driving a large conversion van with shitty mirrors and a trailer. I pulled away from the curb and a guy smacked my fender pretty good. The second was the following winter. Was on my way to school, turned a corner, was going maybe 10mph, old woman backs our of a parking lot in front of me, my car slid on the snow for 50 feet and bumped her bumper. We didn't bother calling the cops cos it was just a black dent/mark on her bumper. The ticket was for failure to de-ice windshield, that same winter. On my way to school, late. Scrape windshield, turn on car, car refogs windshield en route, and it freezes. Was only driving 1 more block, no pedestrians or oncoming traffic around, figured I'd be ok. Cop pulled me over right outside the school parking lot, gave me this whole speech about driving safely, wrote me a $105 dollar ticket. Made me sit there, let the car warm up and remelt the ice. Drove the remaining 20 feet, parked, finally made it to class, teacher started to yell at me, I yelled back about the ticket, many lulz were had at my expense.