California Drivers Ed - California Drivers Education
Those who are just thinking of applying for a drivers license are plagued with questions about California drivers education classes. Do I need to take a California drivers ed course if I am over 18 years of age? Do I take my California driver's education program before I apply for a permit or a drivers license? How much does a regular drivers education program cost, is it cheaper to go for an online California drivers education course? Will my drivers ed class include a free California permit practice test or to I need to look up some practice permit test questions on my own? Don't worry, we will answer all these questions for you so you can choose the best California drivers education program there is and get your driver license in no time!
According to current laws, every California drivers license applicant who is under 17 and ½ years of age is required to complete a California driver's education course. Those who are over 17 and ½ do not have to do drivers education, however, they are strongly advised to do so anyway. Taking a state-approved drivers education class serves a few purposes: it prepares you for the learners permit test, teaches you defensive driving techniques and it may also make you eligible for a car insurance discount.
Why Do I Have to Take Drivers Ed?
Underage drivers license applicants have to take a California drivers ed program under the current California graduated drivers license law. Graduated drivers license programs are currently employed in almost every state around the country, they have been shown to save lives and the DMV has been polishing GDL rules for quite a while now. Drivers education classes are part of the graduated license system that is intended to teach teen drivers the state driving rules and the responsibility of driving. Teen drivers need to complete the course before taking the California permit test, at which point they are issued with a California learners permit.
Taking a certified drivers education class and some professional driving lessons to compliment it will also do you a lot of good when the time come to take your California driving test. Drivers ed classes teach you what you will be tested on during the exam, while the instructor will teach you how to put that knowledge to good use. If you have a California drivers education book, make sure to review it before you take the road test!
Different Versions of California Drivers Ed
At the moment, new drivers have quite a few choices when it comes to taking a driver's education class in California. The CA DMV is very liberal and accepts virtually any drivers education class, provided it's up to the state's standards. If your school offers drivers education - you might take it at school as part of your curriculum. However, if your school does not offer drivers ed - don’t stress. You can still take California drivers ed online, through a commercial driving school or choose from various book courses.
Which drivers ed program should you pick? Well, that’s totally up to you. Each one of them has its own advantages and disadvantages - some courses are cheaper, other are more convenient, so you have to decide this for yourself. When shopping for a drivers education program, check if the course includes some permit practice test CA sample questions as they are really helpful in identifying those driving rules you may have missed while preparing for the permit test. Of course, if you find a great program that does not have sample permit questions, you can still go ahead and buy it and then take this free California drivers license practice test or help yourself to this DMV CA practice test!
If you have not taken a driver's education course but still want to prepare for the learners permit test, you should go ahead and download a copy of the California drivers manual from the DMV website. The book is free, it covers everything you need to know for the permit exam and, once you add a free practice permit test or two, should get you through the knowledge exam just fine. Of course, it does not have as much in-depth information about defensive driving techniques as a drivers education course does, but if you are looking to save a few bucks, this may be the way for you.
This brings us to the next question: “how much does a California drivers education course cost”. We wish there was a simple answer to this question. You can buy a drivers ed course for as little as $10 or you may spend hundreds of dollars on it, it all depends on the service you get for your money. You may even with a free California driver's education program, quite a few online drivers ed school hold regular contests and competitions that allow you to do that. However, we should warn you that you should steer clear of extremely cheap CA driver's ed classes as you may have terrible experience with some of those schools. School that offer cheap drivers education won't provide you with free certificate duplicates, it is usually hard to reach someone in the school and the course itself is usually quite dull. Picking a class for $50-60 should be sufficient to avoid these troubles.
Insurance Discount
Another great thing is that you can actually save money by taking a drivers ed class in California. Most of the insurance companies will offer you a significant discount if you provide them with the certificate of completion for one of these classes. However, you should check the eligibility of the program you intend to take with your insurance agent first - it will allow you to avoid surprises once you actually finish the drivers ed class.
