Parent-taught driver education programs require students to learn the skills and obtain the experience necessary to drive safely in a real-world environment. Programs typically teach traffic laws, procedures for owning and operating a vehicle, and factors that affect driving performance. States vary widely on their hourly requirements for classroom study and driving training.
Most states allow some degree of parent-taught driver education, although some only allow it for home-schooled teenagers. Of those that allow parent-taught driver education for other students, some states limit the involvement to driving supervision and not coursework. In certain states, home-schooled students must complete a commercial or regular school course that teaches safe driving principles. Some states allow parent-taught programs for the entire process, such as the National Driver Training Institute in Colorado, and Driver Ed in a Box of Texas.
The instructor, who may be a parent, step-parent, grandparent or other legal guardian, must have a valid driver's license in the state of residence for a specified amount of time, with no suspensions or revocations. He also cannot have any convictions of serious driving-related offenses, such as driving while intoxicated or criminally negligent homicide.
Parents who advocate for these programs note the difficulty of schoolteachers training 10 to 20 students in the classroom and the likelihood they cannot truly judge individual students' progress. Parents can pay more attention to difficult areas for their teen and make sure she learns all essential aspects of the program.
In 2000, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs researched the success of parent-taught driver education compared to traditional driver's ed. Looking at insurance company statistics, the university found that of every 100 teen drivers, 37 were cited for speeding, 28 were involved in accidents, and four ticketed for driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. By contrast, for every 100 individuals using NDTI parent-taught driver training, eight were cited for speeding, eight were involved in accidents, and only one was ticketed for driving under the influence.