Driver's Ed Might Include More Driving

By Margaret Lyons in News on Jan 25, 2008 10:33PM

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers, and a law set to go into effect in Illinois July 1 is an attempt to make teens safer drivers. The law includes a provision that says driver's ed in high schools have to include six hours of teacher-supervised street instruction, and now 19 public schools are asking the State to waive that part of the law.

Apart from concerns over additional costs, school representatives contend that their driver's education programs are effective just the way they are.

Commercial schools are already required to provide six hours of on-the-road training. A lot of high schools currently use simulators and driving ranges--er, not the golf kind--instead of actual behind-the-wheel time, which seems crazy dangerous to us. [Trib, image via]