Welcome to the Official Website of the NH Driver Ed Bill!

New Hampshire’s driver ed system is broken!   

Driver Ed in this state costs an average of $600-$700!  Many New Hampshire teens can’t afford driver education, so they wait until they turn 18 to get their license, bypassing our Graduated Driver Licensing system and driver ed. We can fix this problem by offering teens an affordable driver ed program. The 2012 Driver Ed Bill (HB 1440) would provide an online driver ed option with parent provided behind-the-wheel training. Costing around $70, online driver ed programs would offer a financially feasible, yet high-quality driver ed option for teenagers here in New Hampshire, so that all teenagers would have an equal opportunity to earn their driver’s license. 

 To read the bill text, click on this link http://driveredbill.com/hb-1440-text. Read the amendment at http://driveredbill.com/amendment-0645h-text. 

 “HB 1440 would help my son get a job, because employers are reluctant to hire teens who don’t have their license. Without a license he can’t get a job to pay for insurance, gas, or driver’s ed. In this economy, we’re making less money—we simply can’t pay hundreds of dollars for driver’s education… and without a license he can’t get a job in order to pay for it himself. We live in a rural area, so most any job requires significant travel.” -Diane G. Antrim

“I'm fifteen and a half and want to start driving soon. Unfortunately, my family and I cannot afford driver's ed. My brother, who is eighteen, couldn't either. But this bill could give me, and many other NH families an affordable option. Driver's ed is simply too expensive. $700 to $750 dollars is too much for the average NH family. I believe that this bill could really help teenagers like me become safe drivers. Please pass HB 1440 and Amendment 0645h!” – Joy R. Alstead

 “My husband and I sent our son to driver ed.  We expected him to learn driving tips, techniques and strategies that we didn't know about.  After his first behind the wheel session, our son was told by his driver ed instructor that there really wasn't anything she could teach him that he didn’t already know. He spent the 10 hours of “behind the wheel training” driving around, running errands with his instructor, and listening to her chat on the phone while he drove.  Despite his awful experience with our local driving school, if we want our daughter to get her license before she turns 18 and have driver education, we will have no choice but to send her to the same driving school. This has to change!  Please support HB 1440 and Amendment 0645h!”-Barbara R. Nelson

“I’m 16 years old, and I would like to get my license before I turn 18, but we can't afford driver's ed. My family and I moved to NH from Indiana where parent taught driver's ed is a normal thing. Families don't have to pay almost $700 just to have a total stranger teach their kids how to drive. I am really hoping that this bill passes because it would be such a huge help to many families. I think that parent led driver's ed is actually the better way to do it because you have one-on-one time that you don't always have in a regular driver's ed class. $685 for driver's ed is way too much. Most families cannot afford it, especially if they have more than one teenager.” - Kristen C. New Boston

“HB 1440 would help my son Codi to get his driver’s license because, with the cost of driver’s ed today, he is unable to take it the “traditional” way. Codi will be 17 in April and he has been driving with me in the car since he was 15 ½. I am a single mother, trying to raise 3 kids on $738 per month – that is less than the current cost of the driver’s ed program!! If Codi was able to take an online driver’s ed program, he could even get a part time job and help my family. My twin daughters are 14 and I am already concerned with how I will pay for them to take driver’s ed in two more years. With the economy as bad as it is, and a driver’s license becoming more of a necessity than a luxury, it only makes sense to offer an online driver’s ed program so that every teenager has an equal opportunity to earn his or her license. Please support HB 1440 and Amendment 0645h!” - Staci P. Troy

“My brother Jake is 17 and homeschooled. My mother has been working full time to support him and my 15 year old sister since my father died in a car accident 4 years ago. I moved out on my own almost 2 years ago. My brother hasn’t taken driver’s ed because they can’t afford it on my mother’s income, but he really needs his license. My mother is now going back to school so she can get a better job to support them, so Jake is left home alone with my sister, who is a diabetic. If my mother is at work or school, and my sister has a diabetic emergency, they have to find a friend or family member to take her to the hospital, or call an ambulance if they can’t get anyone else to bring her. If HB1440 passes, Jake can get his license, and bring Rachel to the hospital in an emergency, and get a job, which would help my family and free up some of my mother’s time. Please pass the online driver’s ed bill!”- Josiah H. North Swanzey

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