I am a big mean mom..

[HarperLeigh]

The Driver's Ed course my son is taking is 24 hours in the classroom and 24 hours of driving.

Ours is 30 hours of class instruction (I think) and 60 hours of driving, 6 hours of that with an instructor.

 

[kimblebee]

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. I got what I was looking for so I'm out of here.

 

[msjprincess]

Ours is 30 hours of class instruction (I think) and 60 hours of driving, 6 hours of that with an instructor.

I should have clarified it's 24 hours with an instructor.


ETA
Actually it's 24 hours in the car with the instructor but 12 hours actual of driving. Because there are 2 kids in the car at a time.

 

[mjkacmom]

The Driver's Ed course my son is taking is 24 hours in the classroom and 24 hours of driving.

How much does that cost?!

 

[msjprincess]

How much does that cost?!

$495, it's through a local college.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Every family is different. Some of you are making it sound like OP's daughter will never be able to practice driving unless OP lets her drive her car. That's ridiculous. My cousin recently got her license. Her mom didn't like taking her out to practice or having her drive her van, but there were plenty of other people in the family to take her out driving in their vehicles.

It's ridiculous to suggest that someone can't get adequate experience driving simply because one parent doesn't let the teen drive her car, when OP said there are others that will take her.

So you think it's perfectly fine to ask someone else to do something for your child that you are unwilling to do?

 

[lancermom]

Ours is 30 hours of class instruction (I think) and 60 hours of driving, 6 hours of that with an instructor.

Same here. Plus, the driving school we use won't allow you to schedule any of the 6 hours until the student has a certain amount of driving with the parent (can't remember how much, maybe 10 hours).

So you think it's perfectly fine to ask someone else to do something for your child that you are unwilling to do?

That's my feeling. Teaching my kid to drive is not the responsibility of any other relative. Same with the bumming of rides from friends. Occasionally getting a ride is one thing. It's quite another to rely on them for your transportation.

 

[mjkacmom]

$495, it's through a local college.

That's amazing!

 

[CdnCarrie]

Speaking as someone who in the past has spent years in the insurance business including owning my own agency with a large company (Good Hands, LOL) for many of those years, you are only partially correct here. You are correct, insurance follows the car not the driver. An example is lending your car to a friend to run down to the store. But once your insurance company finds out your daughter has her license (and they will find out), they will make you add her to the policy. The reason for this is they want to collect their premium based on the risk they are insuring. Right or wrong, it's how it's done.

Trust me when I say that is not how it is done under our socialized auto insurance. It does not matter who drives the car. It has no bearing. It only depends on the license of the person registering the vehicle.

 

[HarperLeigh]

How much does that cost?!

Our classroom portion is free and they take it at school. Behind the Wheel is $250.

 

[BadgerGirl84]

It's a life skill and you should pay for her to learn to drive.

Were you planning on her becoming an adult and not learning how to drive? Taking the bus to future job interviews and full time jobs?

What, exactly, about the family car makes it so difficult to drive? Is it a stick shift?

It seems like you are projecting your own driving phobias on to her.

Good on her for getting the motivation and ambition to learn to drive.

 

[Nettester]

We have 2 teens. We pay for the class (about 300) and the permit fee (15). We have one newer vehicle in our household that only DH and I are allowed to drive unless we are in the car supervising our teen learner. We also have one older vehicle that our 18 year old is allowed to drive. We pay for taxes, insurance, maintenance, and repairs. She pays 100 percent of the gas, plus a percentage of any repairs caused by accidental damage. Yes, she's already gotten in a fender bender that cost 1000 to repair. We made her pay 250 of this expense, and she had to pay 50 a pay period from her job to us until it was paid off, which she did.

If they lose the license or permit, they are going to pay the 15 replacement cost. And my 18 year old also paid in full herself for 2 parking tickets she received

Driving is a privilege, and is certainly not free, so I see no reason to not require teens to start paying some of the costs. I like her paying for gas because she pays an amount easily understood that the more she drives, the more she needs to pay.

We also live in a city with excellent public transit, so it's very easy to get by without a vehicle. Teens will argue otherwise, but its a want, not a need, in my opinion

 

[jrmasm]

I do not understand the point of this thread.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I do not understand the point of this thread.

Someone had a question so they posted it on a chat board. Nothing really to understand your confusion.
OP was just wondering if others paid for their kids' driving lessons/licenses as she has decided not to.

 

[jrmasm]

Someone had a question so they posted it on a chat board. Nothing really to understand your confusion.
OP was just wondering if others paid for their kids' driving lessons/licenses as she has decided not to.

To me, the thread doesn't read so simply.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

If my child was doing well in school and was responsible, I'd gladly pay for their drivers education. Now if they wanted a car, then I would certainly expect them to have a job and at the very least contribute toward that car. But the educational part of it, I'd be fine with covering.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

I do not understand the point of this thread.

Someone had something they wanted to discuss so they created a thread in order to do so. Same as anyone else who starts a thread.

I do not understand the point of posting "I do not understand the point of this thread."

 

[kuhltiffany]

Being self-sufficient has nothing to do with driving. Getting your self places and planning ahead does. When I was first out on my own I made sure I lived near grocery stores so I could walk and on a transit line to get to further destinations. I certainly didn't make enough to pay for my own vehicle, gas, insurance, etc. on top of living expenses. Paying down student loans can happen a lot faster if a vehicle isn't factored into the budget.

I still think of vehicles as a waste of money, in our house we still share one car, walk, bike or take the bus as needed…maybe it's old fashioned thinking but it's saved us a lot of $ in the long run!

That's great, but maybe it occurred to her that sometime in the not-so-distant future, she might be living on her own. Maybe she'll go away to college, take a job outside your city, or move for any number of reasons. And she wants to prepare for that possibility now. As others have said, it's easier learning now than when she's older.

Who wants to rely on getting rides from friends or parents all the time? If I were you, I'd be happy that she wants to be self-sufficient. It's one step towards becoming an independent adult.

 

[princesspiglet]

Being self-sufficient has nothing to do with driving. Getting your self places and planning ahead does. When I was first out on my own I made sure I lived near grocery stores so I could walk and on a transit line to get to further destinations. I certainly didn't make enough to pay for my own vehicle, gas, insurance, etc. on top of living expenses. Paying down student loans can happen a lot faster if a vehicle isn't factored into the budget.

I still think of vehicles as a waste of money, in our house we still share one car, walk, bike or take the bus as needed…maybe it's old fashioned thinking but it's saved us a lot of $ in the long run!

That may be great for you depending on where you live, but for some of us that is impossible to do. My DH and I live in a small town without bus or subway transportation. We travel in opposite directions for work and there is no way either of us could bike over 50 miles a day back and forth to work. We each need our own car- there is no other way around it.

 

[tzolkin]

Someone had something they wanted to discuss so they created a thread in order to do so. Same as anyone else who starts a thread.

I do not understand the point of posting "I do not understand the point of this thread."

I think s/he really meant "I do not understand the point of making a thread if you're not going to do what everyone else tells you that they do"