Virginia Drivers Education
If you live in Virginia and you would like to obtain a license before you turn 19, you will have to complete one of the Virginia drivers education courses. Virginia drivers ed classes can also be taken prior to applying for a permit, as they are a great way to prepare for the permit exam.
Graduated Drivers License
It is an undeniable fact that when it comes to driving, teenagers are not the most careful folk out there. This has been shown by many studies and proven by stats collected nationwide. This is why most states developed a number of measures to counteract the factors that contribute to the high fatality rates among teenage drivers. These measures are usually known by the name of the graduated drivers license law. The law differs from the state to state, by the key elements remain the same driving restrictions for drivers who are under 18 years of age, compulsory drivers education classes and supervised driving while driving with a learners permit. Virginia GDL law is no exception to the general rule, the minor difference being that the restrictions apply to all drivers who are under 19 years of age, not 18 as in most of other states. If you are applying for a drivers license before you turn 19, you have to complete a Virginia drivers education program.
Why Take Drivers Ed
As already mentioned above, if you are trying to get a license and you are younger than 19 you must complete a state-approved Virginia drivers education course before you can be issued with a license and there is no way around it. However, license applicants who are over 19 should also consider taking the class. Although not explicitly required to do so by the state, taking a certified drivers ed program brings a number of benefits.
For starters, there is a safety issue. Statistics show that people who complete drivers ed are safer drivers than those who dont take the course. There is no price tag on your safety, think about this.
If the price is your main concern, then you should not worry about it. Most of the insurance companies provide a handsome insurance discount to drivers ed graduates. The amount of money youll save with the insurance discount will be more than enough to compensate the drivers education class tuition.
Finally, there is also the permit test that you will have to take before you can be issued with your Virginia learners permit. The permit test questions cover Virginia driving rules and road signs and taking a drivers education class is a great way for you to prepare for the exam.
If you are looking for other ways to prepare for the knowledge test, you can obtain a copy of the Virginia drivers handbook free of charge from the DMV. The drivers ed book can be downloaded or obtained from one of the DMV offices. Complimenting the book with some permit practice tests should also be of a great help with the exam.
Drivers Ed Classes
The most common way of taking a drivers education class in Virginia is taking the class in high school, the majority of the license applicants do it this way. If the course is not offered in your high school or you are not attending a school, you could turn to a commercial driving school for your drivers ed curriculum.
If you are going through a commercial school, you may have the option of taking a drivers education class online. Search around for Virginia online drivers ed and you are bound to find a school that offers it. Just make sure that the school that you choose is certified by the state. In case of Virginia, the course may be certified by either the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Department of Education. The online drivers ed is especially convenient for home schoolers as it fits nicely into the regular home schooling curriculum.
