Driver’S Ed Changing
A driver’s education student once asked Post Falls teacher Dave Herndon if a semi lost its brakes going down a steep hill, whether he should pull his car in front of the semi and stop to help the truck slow down.
“That was probably the funniest thing any of my students ever asked,” Herndon said. “And he was serious about it, too. He really thought he should pull in front of the truck. I told him no, he should just get as far out of the way as possible.”
Herndon is spending his summer vacation teaching driver’s education for the Lakeland School District. Lakeland, like other Idaho schools, provides low-cost driving instruction to its students, and Herndon is one of a select number of teachers who has the courage to teach high school students how to drive: a frightening thought to most people.
Driver’s education has been changing, however, and many people agree the changes are for the better.
“When I took driving, I don’t remember going over the laws or details of driving as much as we do now,” Herndon said. “Recently, the course has really become more in tune to the different laws and aspects of driving. We spend more time learning the details.”
This careful attention to detail is now a characteristic of any driver’s education course, whether a student is taking a class offered through a public school or a private company that teaches the course.
Heather Lemm is taking private driving lessons because there was a long waiting list for the school course.
“I wouldn’t have gotten my driver’s license for a long time if I had taken the school course,” she said. “And so far, the hardest part for me is the parking.”
Herndon said the school’s driver’s ed course is cheaper, “but with private lessons, your classes usually aren’t as large.” The material is basically the same.
There are also some benefits to teaching driver’s ed said Herndon, who currently is instructing a class of 30 students.
“It gives me something to do during the summer. And it’s a way to get some extra cash,” he said. “The best part is that in the car you get to know the kids.”
It can be stressful at times, though, he added. “The aspect I hate the most, however, is the close calls that can happen when a student is behind the wheel.”
These close calls can occur anywhere, explained Herndon, even when an instructor is supervising. “Once, a student had forgotten to turn her pager off while she was driving. It went off, and she looked down to see who had paged her, completely forgetting that she was behind the wheel. Meanwhile, the car veered off the road.”
Incidents like these have added a new aspect to driver’s education at Lakeland.
Idaho has passed a new graduated licensing law that will take effect Jan. 1, 2001. Students no longer will be able to get a driver’s license simply by completing a driving course and taking a test. Instead, they will have to complete a period of supervised driving.
Herndon said the law is needed. Most students admit that the six hours they spend behind the wheel before receiving a driver’s license is not nearly enough, he said.
Lemm agrees that the new graduated licensing law will be a good change. “You don’t get to do much driving in driver’s ed. Not nearly as much as you need,” she said.
Now, students will have to spend more than 50 hours behind the wheel before they can get a license. There are more driving hours and more practice sessions with parents.
As for the parents of a student who will be getting his or her driver’s license, Herndon offered some advice.
“Even after driver’s ed, the most important thing a parent can do is to have the student drive with them for a few months,” said Herndon.
Lemm, however, explained that her parents are still cautious about the idea of her driving. “My mom’s really nervous about me getting my license. I don’t think she wants me to drive. My dad’s pretty OK with it, though. He’s more worried about the pedestrians.”