Driver's education or driver's ed is a formal class or program that prepares a new driver to obtain a learner's permit or driver's license. Topics of instruction include traffic code and vehicle operation and may take place in a classroom, in a vehicle, online, or a combination of the above. Instructional videos may also be shown, demonstrating proper driving strategies and the consequences for not observing said rules.
Instruction
Driver's education is intended to supplement the knowledge obtained from government-printed driving handbooks and prepares students for tests to obtain a driver's license or learner's permit. In-car instruction places a student in a vehicle with an instructor. A dual-controlled car, a car with pedals or other controls for the passenger seat, may be used.
Some high schools in the United States offer driving instruction, though decreasing budgets and rising gas prices have reduced this. Many driver's education courses are available online. In the United States it is up to the state's Department of Motor Vehicles, or equivalent, to accept any such programs as meeting their requirements. Some car insurance agencies also offer discounts to those students who have completed a driver's education program.
Obtaining a license
Successful completion of a driver education course is required by many state agencies before young drivers receive their driver license or learner's permit. In some states, however, students taking driver's education have the opportunity to receive a waiver for successful course completion, which allows them to receive a learner's permit or driver's license without taking some of the tests.
On Track
Some car clubs, such as the Porsche Club of America and PBOC Motorsports Club, conduct driver's education programs focused on how to handle an automobile under high-speed driving conditions rather than on learning the rules of the road. These programs take place at road racing courses and include both classroom instruction and driving.
Students drive with an experienced instructor until they are "signed off". At this point they can continue practicing and improving their skills without an instructor. Driver's education programs involve multiple cars together on a racetrack, but they are not considered racing because they are not timed, winners are not declared, and drivers must wait to pass until the driver being passed gives permission with a hand signal. These programs require approved, sometimes requiring racing helmets and rollover protection for convertibles. Some also require long sleeved shirts and long pants for fire safety. However, they do not require full roll cages, five or six point seat belts, fire extinguishers, fire-resistant racing suits, or other safety features seen in racing and more.