These days, knowing how to drive is a necessity for just about everybody.
Teens may opt for driver’s education classes available at most public schools, but students at private institutions or adults who have relied on public transportation must seek other options that, depending on their age and skill, could cost big money.
Before getting behind the wheel, here’s what you should know about driving schools.
Mike McGinn, co-owner of the Community Driving School that offers 18 Chicago-area locations, says that longevity is a good measuring stick to use in selecting where you’ll learn to drive.
“Longevity is a clue that tells you about the quality of a business,” McGinn said. “We’ve been here 30 years. In addition to the driving school, we offer in-house training for our own people, as well as teaching those at other driving schools to be instructors.”
Sandy Strantz, manager of the Illinois Institute of Driver Education Inc. in Chicago, says that the most noticeable common factor among all non-drivers is fear and that “counseling clients who are terrified to drive” is just as important as teaching them how to do it.
“You want to pick a driving school that’s been around a while and has excellent teachers,” Strantz said. “But I can’t tell you how many people call me, and I have to counsel them about driving in the first place. It’s not as easy as taking their name and just signing them up. By the time people call us, we’re usually their last resort.”
Strantz says teens sometimes bypass their high school driver training because of the time it takes to complete it, and enroll in a private driving school instead. She adds that adult clients frequently have experienced a change in their lifestyle, work or family structure that has forced them to get a license for the first time.
“Our business is half teens and half adults, and they each have different needs,” she said. “For teens, they want their license quicker or they’ve found that having their parents try to teach them didn’t work out. With adults, it’s often a case of moving away from public transportation or the husband doing all the driving and now he can’t.”
David Varas, owner of the Central Driving Academy in Chicago, says he frequently sees adult students who have relocated and now need a license or others “needing a brushup course because they’ve been driving in a foreign country.”
“Our own business is about 25 percent adults, 75 percent kids,” Varas said. “A lot of the teens do have driver’s ed at their own school, but feel they’re better off here.”
Some driving schools have also become more specialized based on the clientele they serve. Examples include having bilingual instructors to work with various ethnic groups or others with special certification to work with the disabled.
“We offer to work with students with disabilities in conjunction with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago,” McGinn said. “We also have bilingual instructors who teach driving and help students with interpretation during their tests.”
Strantz believes private driving schools offer more personalized attention and more time behind the wheel.
“We believe schools sometimes burn out kids because completing the course takes too long,” she said. “We offer 90-minute sessions of road experience where kids often go out one-on-one with instructors.”
Ken Biggs and Doug Walter, veteran driving instructors for Palatine High School District 211, believe that for teens a high school that offers driver’s education as an integrated part of the curriculum is a superior option.
“Getting a license is a lifelong safety issue,” Walter argues. “It’s not about time put in. With a lot of driving schools, there are no tests, no projects and no accountability. It’s just completing the 30 classroom hours and you pass. Our program is a lot more academic.”
“It’s true that private schools offer more time behind the wheel since we also use the simulators,” Biggs adds. “The machines we use have stored information. We’re talking about habit formation, and showing kids lots of situations. Often when we’re driving, we’ll see something on the road we saw in the simulation film. Kids think we pay people ahead of time to do those things, but we don’t.”
Currently, the state of Illinois requires teen drivers under 18 to complete 30 hours worth of classroom instruction plus six hours behind the wheel. High school programs often feature 12 hours of simulation, which counts toward three hours worth of driving. Current law also requires 25 hours of driving with parents and holding a permit at least three months before being permitted to take a driver’s license test.
For adults, the 30 hours of classroom instruction is waived and only the driving hours are required. Strantz says the amount of time needed to become proficient will vary.
“Not every adult is ready to take the test after six hours of driving,” she said. “A lot of it depends on age and experience. Studies have shown, for instance, that adults that learned how to ride a bike in their life also learn to drive quicker. The hand/eye coordination you need is similar. Some people also need more time because of the need to get over their fear.”
A six-hour course offered by the Illinois Institute of Driver Education costs $230. Teens receive the mandatory 36-hour course for the same fee. Strantz says the average cost for all students, adult or teen, ranges between $230 and $400.
McGinn said Community Driving Schools charge $355 for teens for their 36-hour program and an hourly rate of $63.50 per hour for adults. Seniors 55 and over are offered a discount rate of $59.
“We find it can take from six to 40 hours before people learn to drive,” McGinn said.
Varas said he charges $39.95 per hour, and li,ke most schools, doesn’t require a contract with a guaranteed number of hours upfront.
“People sometimes fear driving schools because they think they’ll have to sign a contract for X number of hours,” he said. “There are a minimum number, but it’s just a matter of taking what’s necessary.”
Strantz advises those learning to drive not to think in terms of maintaining a budget.
“Just because a person only has so much to spend doesn’t mean he can drive when the money runs out,” she said. “The most important thing is safety, and there isn’t a price on that.”
Here are a few other points to know about private schools and local high school driver’s education classes:
– Private schools will usually offer to pick you up the day of your driver’s test and later bring you home. Hourly fees will likely apply. Strantz says the state has cut the number of employees drastically, resulting in longer waits at the testing station. Expect your test day to cost about $100 in hourly fees.
– Varas says just because parents can drive doesn’t mean they can teach it to their kids.
“When it came time for my own kids to drive, I had one of the other instructors at the school do it,” he said. “And personally, I’d never go out in a car without a dual brake.”
– For teens struggling with the choice between a private or high school program, Biggs say to “stop in at a private center and see what they’re doing.”
“Most of the kids go there after school. Then go to your child’s school and see the difference,” he said. “Insurance companies still believe in what we’re doing. They still give greater discounts for kids that have completed their high school driver’s education program and maintained a B average.”
– For adults and those at private schools, your local high school district may offer driver’s ed through continuing education classes. Biggs says he has seen rates from $300 to no cost at all.
