Arlington, Texas has some pretty good local drivers ed schools which are great for your behind-the-wheel training, but what about the “classroom” portion of drivers ed?
Most drivers ed students seem to be moving towards online drivers ed for this portion of their training and only using a driving school to complete their required behind-the-wheel hours.
As a former driving instructor, I think this is probably the best way to go.
Texas also has Parent Taught Drivers Ed which is another option where no driving school needs to be used at all. With Parent Taught Drivers Ed, mom or dad simply becomes the “instructor” and all drive time can be completed without the use of a professional driving instructor.
No matter which way you decide to go, in most cases, doing the “classroom” portion of driver’s ed training online is a great option.
Want The FAST Answer? This Is The Best Online Drivers Ed Course In Arlington, Texas
Why I Like Online Drivers Ed More Than Classrooms
As a former driving instructor, you might be wondering why I advocate for drivers ed students to sign up for an online drivers ed course rather than a classroom course. While classroom-based courses help local driving schools earn additional revenue and provide more jobs to instructors, the real concern should be which learning environment is best suited for students. In my opinion, classroom-based courses are simply inferior to online driving classes.
Online driving schools, such as this one, are getting very advanced. They have always provided benefits in the way of being interactive and teaching information to students in a variety of ways (text, video, images, games, cartoons, graphics, etc.), but now these schools are starting to use technology like augmented or virtual reality. Just take a look at the below interactive video about parallel parking that Aceable has.
Pretty cool, right?! This is absolutely the future of driver education, so for me as a former driving instructor to resist this technology simply because “in the old days” we learned in a classroom would be a disservice to new drivers ed students. The benefits become even more pronounced when boring topics are covered. Learning about rules, regulations, laws, and driving safety can get boring real quick in a classroom, but online, students go at their own pace on an interactive platform.
With that all said, some students simply do better in classrooms for one reason or another, so while I personally recommend online drivers ed for Arlington, Texas drivers ed students, every individual has their own learning style.
My Top Rated Online Drivers Ed Courses For Arlington, Texas
Any Texas state-approved online drivers ed course is also specifically approved in Arlington, Texas, so as long as you go with a state-approved online drivers ed course you’ll be in good shape.
Good Local Driving Schools In Arlington, Texas
Unless you’re using the Parent Taught Drivers Ed program in Texas, you’ll still need to sign up with a local driving school to complete your driving hours. While most of the drivers ed school in Arlington, Texas are smaller locally owned schools, they have a pretty good reputation. Here are a few I personally recommend:
The biggest issue you’ll run into with any driving school in or around Arlington, Texas is the lack of available instructors.
Generally, the quality of instruction is good, but with so few driving instructors, sometimes they get a little bit more business than they can handle.
This is especially true during the busiest season which generally is in the summer when kids are off of school.
During those summer months, it can be very hard to book an instructor, which is the biggest complaint. I’ve found the top 3 driving schools I listed to be the best in the Arlington, Texas area, however.
Have You Considered Parent Taught Drivers Ed?
Many drivers ed students and parents in Texas aren’t even aware that this program exists.
Understandably, local driving schools don’t want you to know about it. A parent or guardian can sign up to become a driving instructor. A step-parent, grandparent, step-grandparent, foster parent, or legal guardian appointed by a court can also be an instructor.
The candidate should be at least 25 years old and he/she will not charge a fee for conducting the course.
They must have a valid driver’s license and he or she must have held it for the past 3 years. He or she will also need to have at least 7 years of driving experience.
To be eligible, the candidate must not have a conviction of criminally negligent homicide or of driving while intoxicated in the last 7 years.
And, if the candidate has a record of his or her driver’s license being suspended, revoked, or forfeited for traffic-related violations in the past 3 years or getting 6 or more points assigned to their driver’s license, they will be ineligible to be an instructor.
The process is pretty simple, and you can learn more about how to get started here.
But let me walk you through the process as well.
First of all, as part of Texas’ Parent Taught Drivers Ed requirements, as soon as your teen reaches 14 years, he or she will already be allowed to take the classroom portion of this course. However, they can only take the test for a learner’s permit when they reach 15.
For the instruction requirements, a PTDE course should be at least 76 hours, 32 hours of which will be dedicated to the theory part. Upon signing up for the course, the 32 hours must be completed within 16 days.
For the 44 hours of behind-the-wheel training, here’s the breakdown:
- In-car observation (7 hours)
- Actual behind-the-wheel training (7 hours)
- Driving practice (30 hours, 10 hours of which must be done at night)
Note that the in-car instruction must be completed within 44 calendar days, with a maximum of 2 hours of training per day. Once the classroom hours are complete, the in-car instruction and practice hours will be limited to 1 hour of driving per day.
Note that you have to wait for your teen to get his or her learner’s license before the in-car instructions can be done.
Not all parents feel comfortable enough taking the “driving instructor” role and that’s fine, but most parents have driven for decades with no major at-fault accidents, plus, parents understand their kids a whole lot more than some random instructor.
Hopefully, this helps and drive safely!