> We should probably break the news to her that there is no "drivers ed" in the UK.
There isn't? Care to explain?
There isn't? Care to explain?
Many do it soon after they can, many do it later as adults, and many never do. In UK only ~35% of adults aged 17-20 and ~65% of 20-29 have a driving licence; I assume that this is a bit different in USA.
It's a private school. Most kids learn by their parents teaching them. If the parent can not do it for whatever reason, then they register with a drivers ed school, and the teacher teaches them.
In some states if you take the theory classes [not the road practice] you get a discount on your insurance - that sometimes is part of highschool.
Every state is different though, some require a logbook with road hours, some don't, some have more theory classes, some less. It varies a lot.
About five months after I was issued my driver's license by the state of Florida, we moved to North Carolina, where driver's education is compulsory for people under 18. They would not issue me a North Carolina driver's license unless I completed driver's ed., even though I was already licensed in the state of Florida.
As a result, I enrolled in driver's ed. via my high school. Classes took place in the afternoon after all my regular classes were finished. Then, while my classmates were waiting for their rides, I got in my car and drove myself home. For the on-road portion of the coursework, I drove myself to and from the school on Saturday mornings and hopped in the "Student Driver" car. My instructor, knowing I already knew how to drive pretty well, just had me drive him on his errands -- grab a coffee at McDonald's, return some tapes to Blockbuster, deposit his paycheck at the bank, etc.
It was bullshit, but I had to do it to obtain an NC driver's license.
Of course, after college I moved to northern Virginia for work, and getting my VA license was as easy as filling out a form and showing them my NC license. Done! The VA DMV puts the NC DMV to shame in many ways, including efficiency. (In NC, we also have separate DMV offices for licenses and tags. Pain in the ass!)
I've both UK and US licenses - did drivers ed in illinois in the 90's, aged 15. Watching gruesome films didn't make me a better driver, and I remember being stunned when I was told I'd passed - we didn't even go on a public road!
At least, that's the process to get a license before you're 18, I think after 18 you just need to pass the practical test. And since usually the person filling out the 50 hours sheet is one of your parents it's definitely possible to just lie about it.
Just for comparison, here in Germany, you have to take a 14 hours of theory lessons and then do a theoretical test (which has a 25%+ failure rate). Once you passed that, you have to take 20 hours of mandatory driver training with a certified instructor. The instructor will decide if you need additional training hours (up to another 8 hours). The practical test then consists of 25-30 minutes of driving and parking (in a real parking spot, not cones). This practical test also has a 25%+ failure rate. Also, all that happens in a car with manual transmission.
No. It's literally driving around a few streets, stopping at a stop sign / stop light, and (maybe) parallel parking. I had to do it with real cars, which in retrospect were junkers that the DMV had for the purpose.
> Are there any numbers what the failure rate is?
Massachusetts provides a list of drivers ed schools with their pass rates - it seems to vary from 50% to 90%. Cutting that in half and adding a little bit, (the highest pass rates come from large, successful schools) the pass rate seems to be around 75% or so.
However, this is for teenagers who went through driver's ed - adults have a much, much easier time with the test because they're more mature.
Also, it greatly depends on the state. When I was in the Marines, I had the wonderful task of teaching boots how to drive so that they could get an Arizona driver's license. Their test was literally just driving around the block, no parallel parking involved.
I took the test in a manual because that's what my dad had, but most take it in an automatic. In all seriousness, though, a manual really isn't that hard once you spend a few hours stalling at every stop sign in a suburban neighborhood.
The driver's test is still easier in the US than in the UK.