Q. Every so often, I see a car marked “student driver” on the
streets of Anaheim. But for the number of kids that should be getting a
driver’s license every year, it seems like I should see a lot more on
the streets. When I was in high school, we took a driver’s education
class. I don’t think they offer that any more, though right? So how do
kids get certified to drive these days?
– Art Jenkins, Anaheim
A. Ah, yes, Art. Remember those days?
Not long ago, I was reminiscing with a colleague who’d attended Katella High School back in the 1980s how that driver’s training worked in the Anaheim Union High School District.
Back when I was a student at Anaheim High, that meant a sophomore year split between health class and driver’s education. I remember sitting through long discussions on topics such as using hand signals – left hand straight out to signal left, bent up at a 90-degree angle to signal a right turn and bent down at 90 degrees to signal a stop. (Not to mention how to resist using any fingers to signal anything to other drivers).
I also learned about what to do if your hood pops open and obstructs your view while traveling 55 mph on the freeway – the speed limit back then, by the way. And how to solve the problem of “vapor lock” if you’re traveling up in the mountains and suddenly your engine stalls.
I can remember sitting in class and thinking, “Wow, so much can go wrong. Maybe this driving thing isn’t for me.”
Never was that more true than having to watch “Red Asphalt,” a movie that’s been described as the “Scared Straight” of driving. Plenty of gruesome scenarios that stick with a driver.
Still, like so many others, as my 16th birthday drew near, nothing said freedom quite like the promise of being able to get behind the wheel of the Datsun B210 – which I inherited from my older brother, who got it from my dad, who got it from my uncle – and hit the open road. Or at least the road that took me the three miles to school each morning.
Back then, we also got our first practice behind the wheel at the Anaheim Union District offices, practicing on the orange, electric utility carts in the parking lot. Even topping out at about 15 mph, it was hard to resist the urge to race your buddies. I still remember the first time the instructor gave us the proverbial green flag, my friend Tony lead-footed the accelerator – only to discover he had the thing in reverse, and slammed into a chain-link fence.
These days, those carts are no longer an option.
The district cut driver’s education from its core curriculum years ago due to budget constraints.
Now students are on their own to take lessons privately or online courses to prepare them for their DMV test. To get a license, students are required to complete more than 24 hours of course work, have six hours of behind-the-wheel training and 50 hours of practice with an adult on the road before going to the DMV for the road test.
Information about legitimate driving schools can be obtained at the state’s motor vehicle department website dmv.ca.gov.
I definitely see student drivers on the road, too, Art. Some cars are marked a little more subtly than others.
– Art Jenkins, Anaheim
A. Ah, yes, Art. Remember those days?
Not long ago, I was reminiscing with a colleague who’d attended Katella High School back in the 1980s how that driver’s training worked in the Anaheim Union High School District.
Back when I was a student at Anaheim High, that meant a sophomore year split between health class and driver’s education. I remember sitting through long discussions on topics such as using hand signals – left hand straight out to signal left, bent up at a 90-degree angle to signal a right turn and bent down at 90 degrees to signal a stop. (Not to mention how to resist using any fingers to signal anything to other drivers).
I also learned about what to do if your hood pops open and obstructs your view while traveling 55 mph on the freeway – the speed limit back then, by the way. And how to solve the problem of “vapor lock” if you’re traveling up in the mountains and suddenly your engine stalls.
I can remember sitting in class and thinking, “Wow, so much can go wrong. Maybe this driving thing isn’t for me.”
Never was that more true than having to watch “Red Asphalt,” a movie that’s been described as the “Scared Straight” of driving. Plenty of gruesome scenarios that stick with a driver.
Still, like so many others, as my 16th birthday drew near, nothing said freedom quite like the promise of being able to get behind the wheel of the Datsun B210 – which I inherited from my older brother, who got it from my dad, who got it from my uncle – and hit the open road. Or at least the road that took me the three miles to school each morning.
Back then, we also got our first practice behind the wheel at the Anaheim Union District offices, practicing on the orange, electric utility carts in the parking lot. Even topping out at about 15 mph, it was hard to resist the urge to race your buddies. I still remember the first time the instructor gave us the proverbial green flag, my friend Tony lead-footed the accelerator – only to discover he had the thing in reverse, and slammed into a chain-link fence.
These days, those carts are no longer an option.
The district cut driver’s education from its core curriculum years ago due to budget constraints.
Now students are on their own to take lessons privately or online courses to prepare them for their DMV test. To get a license, students are required to complete more than 24 hours of course work, have six hours of behind-the-wheel training and 50 hours of practice with an adult on the road before going to the DMV for the road test.
Information about legitimate driving schools can be obtained at the state’s motor vehicle department website dmv.ca.gov.
I definitely see student drivers on the road, too, Art. Some cars are marked a little more subtly than others.
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