Driver education helps young teens learn the basics of road safety and how to drive.

Driver Ed instructor Verla Vais has been teaching the course for 12 years.

“You are required to complete 30 hours of curriculum in class or, recently, due to the pandemic, it’s now offered online. The curriculum consists of the basics of driving a car to the different things you’ll experience while driving.  It goes through different highway systems, driving distances you should observe, driving alongside trucks and many other things related to taking on the responsibility of driving,” Vais said.

Vais thinks it is important for students to take driver education to become better drivers and to overcome any bad habits picked up by parents. For the driving portion of the class, students need to have 12 hours of driving time which includes six observation hours and six driving hours.

“You need to know driving is the most important thing to concentrate on.  So, when you are behind the wheel with that two-ton machine all your focus has to be on the road.  Being on cell phones and other distractions in the car need to be minimized because you never know when something could happen and you might not be around to tell the story later,” Vais said.

Freshman Riley Davis is taking driver education to better his skills as a driver and to eventually get a license. Davis said the classes are very informative. The first driving lesson was stressful for Davis, but he said it’s helping him refine his skills as a driver.

“I feel like I’ll do alright on my driver’s test,” Davis said.