When parents first give their kids the keys to the car a moment of trepidation follows. Will they be safe behind the wheel? Will they avoid distractions? Will they follow the traffic laws, and will other drivers on the road do the same?
The cost of driver’s ed training can be prohibitive for some families, and there are 10 counties in Ohio where no teen driver training courses are even offered. Some families might opt to wait until a teen is 18 and no longer legally has to take driver’s ed to get on the road. But does this put more young people at risk of accidents?
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine wants to make driver’s ed more accessible for all young people. His plan calls for $20 million in 2025 and another $30 million in 2026 to bring driver’s ed back to high schools. The goal is to subsidize in-school driver training programs.
On Cincinnati Edition we’ll discuss how this plan would work and why driver’s ed has been largely privatized in the state to begin with.
Guests:
- Andrew Tobias, state politics reporter, Signal Statewide
- Homer Weekley, director of driver education, Ohio Valley Educational Services Center
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