Adult Driver Education Rule Change for Texas
There is a fairly new Texas law affecting first time driver license applicants ages 18 to 24, which stipulates that they must complete a six-hour adult driver ed course approved by the Texas Education Agency before they can get their license, so I thought I would go over this new requirement a bit.
Previously, anyone seeking to get their first driver’s license in Texas who was 18 years of age or older was not required to complete any state mandated driver education course. This was in stark contrast to the requirements put on younger drivers in Texas (15 to 17 year olds), which stipulate the completion of a 32 hour driver education course prior to receiving a license . The teenage driver educaton curriculum is 32 hours of classroom material, 7 hours of observing another student on the road, and 7 hours of behind the wheel training. A teenage driver education course can be taken in some high schools (although the number of schools offering this is dwindling), but most are now being taught in commercial driving schools and through relatively new “Parent Taught” programs. Parent taught programs allow the classroom curriculum be taken online and the behind the wheel and observing phases of the class are conducted by a parent or guardian. So as you can see, there was quite a difference in the educational requirements on a 15 to 17 year old trying to get their first drivers license from those 18 years of age or older, prior to the new adult driver education law being passed in 2009.
Bringing more Education to New Drivers
After much lobbying by driving schools, the State of Texas lawmakers agreed that many teenagers where escaping this educational requirement in addition to many of the new restrictions being placed on them. For example, drivers ages 15 to 17 cannot drive between the hours of 12 midnight and 5 AM. Also they cannot have more than one non-family member in their vehicle for the first year after receiving their license. The solution to getting around all of this for many teenagers was just to wait until they turned 18 to get their license. The State of Texas felt strongly that there needed to be additional education requirements put on first time drivers, so they enacted the new Adult driver education law that went into effect on February 28, 2010. As mentioned earlier this new law states that any new driver license applicant in Texas between the ages of 18 and 24 must complete a 6 hour Texas Education Agency approved adult driver education course. Only those drivers that were licensed previously in another state are exempt. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety in 2008 there were 1.8 million original applicants for drivers licenses in Texas, however a large portion of that could have been new residents with out of state licenses. Regardless, there will be a large number of drivers that will have to take this new 6 hour adult driver education course,, which is a good thing for overall safety on the roadways. If you or someone you know needs to complete this course it is available in classroom or online, depending upon your preference.
