Driver's Ed
- Thread starter brownda2
- Start date
persimmoncf
Persimmon Creek Farm
brownda2 said:I have a teenager that is ready for driver's ed.
No teenager is READY for drivers ed!!
persimmoncf said:brownda2 said:I have a teenager that is ready for driver's ed.
No teenager is READY for drivers ed!!
I have to say that I agree with you. Let me rephrase that. She is old enough for driver's ed and I am shaking in my shoes that I have to let her drive. I want her back in a stroller where she is safe!
brownda2 said:
I took driver's ed when it was still given as part of the high school curriculum so I don't know what kind of reputation these places have. Here are a couple that came up during a search:
Drive Safe Driving School
22607 Three Notch Rd
Lexington Park, MD zip code Phone: (301) 863-8944
Joseph F Widmyer
Lexington Park, MD zip code Phone: (301) 863-1312
Hope it helps.
Dupontster
Would THIS face lie?
CSM in my opinion is the best....I hear that some others are just social meeting places....I know when they do the on-the-road part, it is just the instructor and driver....Not a bunch in the car...
Drive safe is pretty good. It costs $300 for the class my daughter is actually taking it right now. THe class is from 6-9 in the evening but they do have other times. No classes on Friday, Saturday or Sunday THat last for 2 weeks I think then they have behind the wheel. If you want more information got o drivesafeschool.com
Tracy
Tracy
G
Gemmi
Guest
I used Drive America for 2 of my kids. They were fine, no complaints. I used Catalina's for my daughter. I never really cared for that guy, but my daughter was the one who had to deal with him, not me. She passed the class.
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Gemmi
Guest
ememdee19 said:
Catalina's.
keekee
Well-Known Member
My son went to A-1 in Hollywood. He really liked his driving instructor, and I had no complaints. The parent goes to the first class with their child, which I liked... but maybe they all do that? Anyway, I'd give A-1 a thumbs-up.
Edit: Not anymore! My second son also went to A-1, and they were absolutely terrible, and full of excuses for their bad business! I'm hoping that they have been shut down by now.
Edit: Not anymore! My second son also went to A-1, and they were absolutely terrible, and full of excuses for their bad business! I'm hoping that they have been shut down by now.
Last edited:
mAlice
professional daydreamer
brownda2 said:persimmoncf said:I have to say that I agree with you. Let me rephrase that. She is old enough for driver's ed and I am shaking in my shoes that I have to let her drive. I want her back in a stroller where she is safe!
Unless she's 18, you don't have to let her do anything.
SitRepFUBAR
New Member
Driver's Ed?
After having been in Maryland for a year and a half, I was convinced until I read the first post that driver's education was not in the vernacular, never mind the curriculum. Don’t get me wrong; beautiful state, nice people, I’m just having a hard time acclimating to the driving habits here. I’ve driven cars, trucks, pickups, motorcycles, bicycles all over this country, including some of the largest cities in this country, for nigh on 35 or so years, and I’ve learned things in Maryland that I ain’t never learned.
For instance, I now know that the inside lane is the designated slow lane; that you risk shaking fists, flying fingers, screaming, dirty looks, aggressive tail-gating, being cut off, and thrown objects (as well as death, dismemberment, and random nuclear strikes) if you try to drive at or near the speed limit (for me, about +5 mph) in the right hand lane. Little did I know, in my cosmopolitan naiveté, that the right lane here, along with any convenient turn lanes, is actually the passing lane!
The other one I’ve not seen any documentation on, but must be part of the driving code is the one where a 45 MPH sign means: “slam your gas pedal to the floorboard as hard as you can, and begin making evasive maneuvers by weaving in and out of traffic as fast as possible.” Silly me; I thought that sign meant SLOW DOWN. *sigh*
I’ve also noticed that if you pretend you don’t see other drivers, you don’t have to yield the right-of-way to them, even though they were at the intersection first.
Oh, and if you pretend you didn’t notice the traffic controls at the intersection you are at, you can do any of the following (though certainly not limited to): change lanes in the middle of an intersection; go through a red light if you pretend you’re turning right, but jig back to the left (psych!); go through a red light if you can remember when it was a different color. You can make u-turns where the signs say either “no u-turn,” or “right (left) turn ONLY” – I guess if it doesn’t say “no u-turn,” that means you can if you feel like it. I have seen more than one person here come to an intersection, and not even pretend to stop at the red light (left turn), and proceed to make a u-turn, not only against the red light, but against a “no u-turn” sign.
So, I guess I, too, at 50 years of age, am going to be looking for driver’s ed. classes - clearly I have a lot to learn.
After having been in Maryland for a year and a half, I was convinced until I read the first post that driver's education was not in the vernacular, never mind the curriculum. Don’t get me wrong; beautiful state, nice people, I’m just having a hard time acclimating to the driving habits here. I’ve driven cars, trucks, pickups, motorcycles, bicycles all over this country, including some of the largest cities in this country, for nigh on 35 or so years, and I’ve learned things in Maryland that I ain’t never learned.
For instance, I now know that the inside lane is the designated slow lane; that you risk shaking fists, flying fingers, screaming, dirty looks, aggressive tail-gating, being cut off, and thrown objects (as well as death, dismemberment, and random nuclear strikes) if you try to drive at or near the speed limit (for me, about +5 mph) in the right hand lane. Little did I know, in my cosmopolitan naiveté, that the right lane here, along with any convenient turn lanes, is actually the passing lane!
The other one I’ve not seen any documentation on, but must be part of the driving code is the one where a 45 MPH sign means: “slam your gas pedal to the floorboard as hard as you can, and begin making evasive maneuvers by weaving in and out of traffic as fast as possible.” Silly me; I thought that sign meant SLOW DOWN. *sigh*
I’ve also noticed that if you pretend you don’t see other drivers, you don’t have to yield the right-of-way to them, even though they were at the intersection first.
Oh, and if you pretend you didn’t notice the traffic controls at the intersection you are at, you can do any of the following (though certainly not limited to): change lanes in the middle of an intersection; go through a red light if you pretend you’re turning right, but jig back to the left (psych!); go through a red light if you can remember when it was a different color. You can make u-turns where the signs say either “no u-turn,” or “right (left) turn ONLY” – I guess if it doesn’t say “no u-turn,” that means you can if you feel like it. I have seen more than one person here come to an intersection, and not even pretend to stop at the red light (left turn), and proceed to make a u-turn, not only against the red light, but against a “no u-turn” sign.
So, I guess I, too, at 50 years of age, am going to be looking for driver’s ed. classes - clearly I have a lot to learn.
B
Bruzilla
Guest
I worked for a few months as an on-the-road instructor for a friend of my daughter's who ran First Step driving school (now closed) in Mechanicsville. The biggest problem I saw with the state's driver's ed training was that there is a requirement for four hours of actual road experience, but there's nothing that says the kid has to be behind the wheel. Just being in the car counts, and that's not good training. I would pick up my first student and have them drive to the house of the second student, then the second student would drive to the house of the third student while the first student sat in the back, and on and on. Out of an hour on the road the student might get 15-20 minutes of time behind the wheel, which wasn't enough.
The other problem that I had was with scheduling. If I had a student out on the road and they were having a problem that needed extra attention (usually parallel parking, lane changing, making turns, etc.) I would keep them out a bit longer until they mastered the task. But this frequently meant that the student wouldn't be back at a scheduled time, or that the next student would be picked up late, and parents would complain because their schedules were more important than the kids learning to drive. As a result I had to place schedule over training, and that's when I quit.
The other problem that I had was with scheduling. If I had a student out on the road and they were having a problem that needed extra attention (usually parallel parking, lane changing, making turns, etc.) I would keep them out a bit longer until they mastered the task. But this frequently meant that the student wouldn't be back at a scheduled time, or that the next student would be picked up late, and parents would complain because their schedules were more important than the kids learning to drive. As a result I had to place schedule over training, and that's when I quit.