As we approach another summer, the number of teens itching to hit the road in sunny California is ever-increasing, and pretty soon they’re going to need to take their first driving course. How exciting!
There are so many courses available both on- and offline, and it can be overwhelming trying to figure out on your own which one will be best for you and your teenager.
The state is no help; they aren’t permitted to provide recommendations, and sometimes word of mouth isn’t the most reliable source of information. Never fear! Here we’ll be going over getting your learner’s permit by choosing from three of the best online drivers ed courses California has to offer. Let’s get started!
Getting Your Learner’s Permit
Before you can officially get your driver’s license, you must first acquire your learner’s permit. This is the first step, and will allow you to get hands-on, behind the wheel driver’s training once you’ve finished the online drivers ed courses.
There are several different options to consider when choosing online drivers ed courses, but I’ve narrowed it down to three of best, in my opinion, for teens just starting to learn the rules of the road.
Improv Traffic School – Hilariously Educational
Though this one is on-par with the second one in this list, I chose to list it first for one reason: the comedy. They took a subject which isn’t very entertaining at all, by any means, and made it a fun experience.
To me, this is one of the most important factors of this online driving course; by making the material fun and engaging, they help to capture the attention of your teenager, who may not be very focused on reading through text about something as boring as driving rules and safety.
Though they do employ a comedic factor, you can still be confident that your child is receiving a quality driving education because they still provide all the necessary information to ensure that your child is well prepared and safe when they hit the road for the first time.
As with most online drivers ed courses, you can take this one at your own pace, however fits your schedule best. They are licensed by the California DMV and offer free reporting to the DMV of your choice and provide you with an official certificate of completion.
The quizzes you take employ simple, multiple choice questions, and there’s no final exam to worry about. They also provide a free practice test before registering that consists of 50 questions to gauge where you are in your driving and road rules knowledge, to give you the best driver’s education experience possible, all at an affordable price.
I Drive Safely
This course, while not as entertaining as the previous one, is one of the best driver’s education courses you can find online, and still they try to break up the monotony with graphics and videos.
They’ve been in business for over a decade, providing thousands of new drivers with a quality education at a price their parents can afford.
While the state of California requires driver’s ed courses to be at least 30 hours, they break it up into sections to make the information easier to take in, and provide short quizzes at the end of each section to make sure you’re retaining the information.
At the end of the course, they present you with the final exam, which consists of 50 multiple choice questions. You have to make at least an 80% to pass, and can take the final exam as many times as you need to.
This course is also 100% online, and allows you to take the course at your own pace, on your own time. They are licensed by the California DMV, and provide you with a certificate of completion to take to the DMV when you are ready to begin your behind-the-wheel training for your driver’s license.
DriversEd.com
While this online driver’s ed course does provide a quality driving education for new drivers, I’m including DriversEd.com in this list for one unique reason: they also offer behind-the-wheel driving lessons once the course is finished.
This is extremely convenient, especially if you aren’t sure you can confidently instruct them within the vehicle, or if you aren’t sure where to go in order to find a driving instructor in your area. They are also unique in that you are required to pay for the course only if you stick with it; if for some reason you decide a couple sections in that the course isn’t for you, no worries!
The course is entirely online, enabling you to take it at your own pace, like the others, and is made to teach you everything you need to know about being out on the road.
The course covers road laws, safety, how to react during emergencies, dealing with different weather conditions, and even covers why it’s a bad idea to drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The entire course is broken down into chapters, with a short quiz at the end of each, and you have every opportunity to take the quiz until you pass it. The same is true for the final exam, and once you’ve passed, they mail you your certificate of completion to take the DMV.
Aceable
With Aceable, you’ll find the most modern interface and the freshest website design there is. This school is not only capable of providing high-quality course content, but they do also know how to make learning a lot more entertaining and interactive.
To cite examples of how they were able to do this, they have integrated funny memes and video clips, as well as animations and a few 3D driving simulations in their lessons. This veers away from the usual text and video course.
What’s more, they developed a dedicated mobile app that allows you to log in and out of the course conveniently, without worrying about not being able to save your progress. They even have this robot mascot that they call “Ace” to guide you through the course.
Overall, Aceable’s course is very engaging and their learning platform highly intuitive, making it a perfect choice for teens of this time. Although it may be pricier than your other choices, it’s worth investing just for the unique learning experience that they’ll be able to provide.
DriversEdToGo
The last school that I’d like to introduce is DriversEdToGo. Although not as fresh and intuitive as Aceable’s, their course is also available in mobile applications that you can access on every device.
If you’re looking for games and interactive content, this school may fall off a bit from what you expect. They do have a dedicated Game Corner that you can visit even if you’re not enrolled in one of their classes, though. You just need to provide your name and email address.
The games are more like answering pop-up quizzes (It’s still fun, though! Try it!)
Nevertheless, their course is easy to use and informative, and you’ll still get all the resources you need to pass your written test.
What Happens When I Finish?
Once you’ve finished the online driver’s ed course of your choosing, it’s time to start your behind-the-wheel training! The state of California requires you to clock a total of 50 hours with an instructor or a licensed driver of 21 years of age or older.
Ten or more of these hours are required to be done at night, and you must complete these requirements within a six-month period. Once you’re finished with that, you’re free to set off to the DMV to apply for your driver’s license and start driving!