Our Philosophy on Teen Drivers Education
Teenagers only get one chance to learn how to drive correctly the first time. A teenager having to unlearn bad habits is extremely difficult. Studies show driving is the most risky task most people will participate in during any single day. Studies also show that 40 percent of new drivers receive a ticket or are involved in a crash in their first twelve months of driving. A majority of these crashes resulting in serious injuries or fatalities. It takes most new drivers five years to gain the general knowledge of the driving public. That is why it is crucial that new drivers have a good theoretical base of knowledge to draw on.
Not all students learn at the same pace. We let students that can move through the classroom quickly do so. Some of those can complete their 30 hours and retain the material in a couple weeks instead of a month. With our flexible schedule students that are motivated to finish quickly may be able to finish in 2 to 3 weeks WITHOUT tying up 4 Saturdays in a row! However some students cannot learn the material by “speeding” them through the classroom. Your child is much more valuable to us than that. If your student requires more time they can move at the pace that best suits their learning style.
That is why we continue to strive to offer a more flexible classroom schedule. This schedule allows sufficient time between classes to allow students to retain more of the material too. This schedule allows each student to move at their pace. Our focus is on the students successfully retaining the information they would need for a lifelong task of driving. We also continue to have “checks” in our classroom instruction to ascertain if each student is successfully retaining the material. We also work with the parents to help their student achieve the goal of a safe, courteous, and confident driver. Having taught literally thousands of students in East Tennessee over the years, gives us the insight on how to best assess your students learning style and teach them in the manner they best learn. Don’t entrust your students safety instruction to a novice, our experience speaks volumes when it comes to your child’s safety.
The driving portion is always done one-on one. One-on-one is the best teacher to student ratio for learning. Giving each student that individualized instruction and attention they need. We want all of our students to be comfortable with asking any questions without fear of embarrassment in front of one of their peers. Other students in the car can become a distraction causing a safety issue as well. We do a full six hours of behind the wheel with every student. During the six hours of behind the wheel instruction we cover many types of roadways and traffic patterns. We don’t use simulators or “range driving”, in a parking lot doing laps, to replace driving time. Only exposure to real driving with a trained instructor, in our dual control, state inspected, insured cars will prepare students for their driving future. As Vince Lombardi said “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.“ The behind the wheel time also allows us as instructors to again“check” by asking questions about the theory the student has learned as it pertains to the present task at hand. Remember there is a big difference between an instructor and an examiner. We pride ourselves in being not only able to examine a teens driving but being able to instruct them in how to improve their skills.