The Driver Ed Bill would benefit New Hampshire in so many ways!
w Driving school tuition can cost as much as $900 in here in NH! Online programs cost an average of $70. Providing an affordable driver ed option for NH teens will increase the number of teens choosing to get driver education in NH, which will lead to safer drivers on the road.
w Teens could begin taking an online program when they can start practicing driving at age 15 ½. Allowing teens to start a driver ed program as soon as they can begin to drive would make a teen safer while they practice driving.
w Online driver ed program providers are willing to offer their programs here in NH, if the Driver Ed Bill is passed.
w Approved online programs allowed in NH would be state-of-the art and include the latest technology to ensure a secure program. They would include voice biometrics and track student progress to insure the teen is doing his/her own work. Students that take an online program will really master the material because they cannot advance to the next level of the program without scoring at least a 90% at the current level.
w Online driver ed programs are interactive and cater to all learning styles! This promotes better assimilation and retention of material. Also, students are able to focus on an interactive online program and aren’t distracted by other teens in a classroom. Students taking an online driver ed program can choose to take it on the weekends, after school, in the morning—whenever they are most comfortable learning!
w Parents can review their student’s progress and test results from an online course. This allows them to reinforce what a student is learning throughout the program.
w Approved online programs will meet the 30 hour driver education classroom time requirement set by New Hampshire law.
w There will be only a nominal cost for the Dept. of Safety to use current employees to approve online programs that apply for approval, and to develop a form for parents to use to log the 10 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction.
w Parents are the people with the prime responsibility for the well-being and safety of their children. Since parents have already taught their teen a multitude of skills, behaviors, and values, it makes sense to allow parents to supervise their teen's online instruction and provide behind-the-wheel instruction for their teen. Parents have the most at stake: their child's safety and their auto insurance rates. The online driver ed/parent provided behind-the-wheel instruction option proposed in HB 1440 would encourage parents to become more involved in their teens driving.
w Online driver ed programs teach the most current driving techniques and use state of the art teaching methods. Driving schools take longer to integrate new teaching methods into their programs.
w If amendment 0645h passes, Parents of teens who choose the online option would have to take a training module online before providing behind-the-wheel training for their teens. This would make for even safer parent drivers!
w HB 1440 is feasible! It doesn’t place a burden on the state by imposing a subsidy. Instead it provides a free market solution to the driver ed problem NH faces.
w Online driver ed programs approved for NH would include comprehensive behind-the-wheel training instructions for parents. Parents can use those instructions from the moment their teen starts driving!
w If the Driver Ed Bill is passed, online driver ed programs approved by the Department of Safety would qualify for insurance discounts!
w If a teen needs a more time to cover the material at a pace that will allow them to fully understand it and apply it, online driver ed programs can be spread out over 6 months.
w Online programs are flexible and would allow busy teens to take driver ed. Also, parent provided behind-the-wheel training is much more flexible than driving school scheduling.
