Jane will be 15 this fall. She will spend the weekend after her 15th birthday at the Mercedes Benz Driving Academy and within a few weeks of that she will be driving with one of their instructors.
By the time Jane is 15 and a half she will have spent 15 hours in the classroom or online with Mercedes instructors and eight hours behind the wheel with them. They have both sedans and SUVs to drive so your kid can learn on whatever most closely resembles your own vehicle.
After Jane gets her permit the driving instructor, Mr. G and myself will be passengers with Jane for two hours. In the next six months Jane will have another six hours with instructors and complete the second 15 hours of classroom time.
On her 16th birthday Jane will get both her license and my groceries. I win.
My Fake Gay Mexican Son and I went to visit MBDA almost a year ago and we heard about their teaching philosophy. It was impressive and I’ve forgotten many of the details but what stood out for me is that the instructors don’t “over-talk” with the learners. They sort of let the kids get the feel of what they’re doing and offer guidance rather than an ongoing patter.
So yeah, Jane will be behind the wheel before the end of the year. I know most of my friends are waiting until after the kids have their permits but I think this is a better plan.
*Note: this is not a sponsored post. Everyone just keeps getting weirded out that I’m starting Jane behind the wheel at 15 in Los Angeles and this should explain why.
Sounds like a good plan! For us, we’re going to give our kids time behind the wheel with us until 18 and then allow them to get a DL. That will give them each enough time to save up for insurance and buy their own car.
I think it’s super smart. I started at 15 1/2 and it wasn’t even early enough. I was SUCH a nervous driver and back then, you got your license at 16 and there weren’t nearly as many conditions and rules about it.
My daughter was behind the wheel before she was licensed. Much the same way Jane will be. My son just finished 18 hours of in class lessons and now he gets to spend 20 behind the wheel. Here’s to kids who prepared for the road.
I remember that day. We made a pit stop at Porto’s.
Why did we go from weho to noho?
You were probably drunk. Again.
In Texas Driver’s Ed can be started at 14. Permit testing is at 15. 32 hours classroom instruction. 14 hours driving instruction. My son has driven with me in the car around 5,000 miles since he turned 15 in January. I love that he has practiced so much, when he turns 16 and hits the highways alone in Dallas at least I’ll feel we’ve equipped him the best we can!
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