Why should I take Driver’s Ed courses?
It costs too much money and I just want to drive!
One of the common responses we hear in this industry is that I’m just going to practice in my car and go do the road-test. So why does anyone do Driver’s Ed courses and spend hundreds of dollars on it?
There are numerous reasons why someone would want to, and each person has their own personal reason. In fact, at the beginning phases of the course, I often put this question to the students who are in attendance. I ask them, ” what brings you to this course? why are you here?”. The reason I ask this question as an instructor, is because I find that having understanding of WHY you are doing something, keeps you connected to the main reason in putting all the effort to learn and stay focused in class, and to absorb as much info as you can.
Some people say it’s because their parents asked them to join, or that their brother/ sister did the same and now they’re of the age to do it. Some people guess the “right” answer accidentally (what they think I want to hear), that they want to learn to drive correctly. Others insist that it’s because they get to do their road-test 3 months sooner than if they were to do it without our course – which is true!
When they come to us with the above answer however, I do usually follow up with the question, “…and you would pay 6, 7, 800 and sometimes 1200-1500$ to save 3 months, and there’s people out there who could have gotten it a year or 10 years or 20 years ago and they didn’t bother?”. They usually insist on their position, and say that indeed the 3 months is very crucial to them. Of course, a lot of the people who do say this, most likely didn’t have to fork over the cash out of their pockets (their parents are paying 😉 ), so it doesn’t seem like a bad offer for them to take.
Most often though, I find, people who join these program, who have a real awareness of why they are joining the program, say that it’s because of the insurance rates. Having done a full certified program which is certified in the province can save you thousands of dollars in the long run. I’ve personally had students who joined the program, who ALREADY had their licenses and they informed me that if they completed the course, that they were able to save 400$ a month for the next 3 years. In other words, in simple black and white financial terms, it makes sense to join a a full 35 hour Driver’s Ed program.
In addition to saving time, getting your license earlier and saving on insurance, there are other benefits as well. For one, by attending this course, you remove the “letter” off your license, i.e. 5N or 5R. The licenses that are a “full” license (not free of the letter), have limitations that pertain to the hours where you may not be able to drive, in this case between 12-5 am. Other limitations include the use of alcohol, not that we should be using alcohol ever while driving anyway.
In my opinion, the most important benefit you can get from a driver’s education course is the practical and time tested skills to learn driving. As we drive through the years, as drivers, we get sloppy and develop bad habits, which could then get us into trouble. It’s because of the bad habits that we build that we get into accidents, putting ourselves and other continually at risk of serious injury or death.
Driving a vehicle is serious business, and if there’s any place or time to not be stingy about spending your money, it’s on a course that can assure you a good solid instructor who can patiently, and kindly guide you to a place where you can improve and establish your skills as a defensive driver. As I always like to say : ” you only ever need to be a great driver once!”. After that, you will of course need to continue to maintain those skills by practicing good driving behavior and technique. The worst of it is when you pass on bad habits and skills to your children, and those you drive with, and they do the same thing. I’ve had my students tell me (even after training with me), that they didn’t have to signal or shoulder check.
As a driving school that excels in evolving and growing as instructors and as an entity, we truly care about the proper standard of driving within our community. We want to partake in improving the collective skills by setting good driving examples, to educate, to spread the word and get the word of how important it is to drive properly to whoever will listen! Our driving school offers multiple programs including the full certified 35 hour program that not only imparts the right knowledge, and the practice drills, but it also helps to instill good strong foundational habits that can last a life time. We also offer Defensive and Improvement driving programs that help reduce a driver’s Demerit points, and to help them lower their insurance premiums (usually after a traffic citation or driving mistake), and to help get them back on track.
So in conclusion, even though attending a driver’s education program can be somewhat costly. It does help you become a great driver who is considerate and effective. You will avoid accidents, and save situations where others may be at fault. Then we help lower your or teenager’s insurance by upwards of 5-6k in the first 3 years of your driving experience. You will remove the letters (limitations) from your driver’s license, which would otherwise be impossible to do. And last but not least, you set a great example as a driver, and feel safe and effective driving in any weather or driving environment, such as rain, snow, on the highway, downtown or at night.
You can get more information on the program details and prices by following this link here, or feel free to reach out to us if you live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for any other information we can help with by emailing us at [email protected]
