What did you or your kids learn in drivers ed?

[OakLeaf]

They don't get driver's ed. in school anymore.
Not here, anyway.

I learned that a Ford LTD is one bigass car.

+1, and same with a '71 Chevy Impala.

On the bicycling front, I learned that I couldn't drive with a shoulder sprained from a bike wreck

I assume that the drivers' ed curriculum varies by company - I have no kids and no reason to know. But it's an idea, anyway: I wonder if LAB has worked with AAA on their curriculum, for instance. Anybody here involved in a national bicyclists' organization?

Ohio just did a major revision to their traffic laws to standardize the laws regarding bicycles. I wonder how many states haven't even done that yet?

[Tuckervill]

Arkansas law for bikes says they have the same rights and responsibilities as a car, and that we have a 3-feet passing law. My son recently took the driver's test and read half the book (passed the test anyway). There is a section about bikes and other "slow moving vehicles" that just addresses how you safely pass them (the 3-feet law is new, so I don't believe it was in our copy of the book). I think it assumes that everyone knows that bikes can be on the road, so it doesn't question whether bikes should actually be on the road. Just sort of lumps them in with tractors, if I recall.

My son said there were no questions on the test about bikes or slow moving vehicles, but there were only 25 questions. There was a LOT left off.

Karen

[Melalvai]

I heard that Kansas (where I grew up) just added a question about bikes to their driver's test, after 2 years of lobbying. It's nice when Ks does something I can be proud of instead of for example banning evolution. I guess there was an article about it in Bicycle magazine (the driver's test, not evolution).

[Xrayted]

I finally went into the DMV last week to take my computer test to earn my OR state license. (Moved here from PA this year.) They actually have an entire book, besides the one for autos, for bikers and what the rules are. Full diagrams for the cyclist and what they can and should be doing for many situations. From using the crosswalks to make a turn at a busy intersection to taking the entire lane. It's really comprehensive. We have it here at home and I've looked through it a couple of times now. Very cool. I wish all states did something like that. As for in the regular manual, they do a great job of explaining the laws but I'm sure most skip over that part. I did however have a bike question on my driver's test. It was about sharing the road as a cyclist takes the lane and what is correct. I wonder how many future drivers miss that one...