The Seattle School District offers traffic safety education
classes to students who are at least 15 years old and are eligible
to attend a secondary school (public or private). The course is
approved by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction. The purpose of our program is to help students
to become efficient, knowledgeable and responsible drivers.
The Seattle Public Schools has operated a driver-training
program for over 40 years. All of our teachers are certificated
with a traffic safety education endorsement through the
Superintendent of Public Instruction and receive updated
information and training every year. Our instructors average 17
years of experience teaching driver education.
The Traffic Safety Education course teaches students about the
skills, judgment and attitudes essential to safe and skillful
driving. The program provides the young driver with the opportunity
to learn about the driving task, rules of the road, driver
responsibilities, and how to make reduced-risk decisions while
driving. A unit on alcohol/drugs and driving and the Seattle
Defensive Driving system are part of the curriculum.
As part of the course students will practice basic and defensive
driving strategies in a variety of traffic situations. In addition,
they are expected to practice between driving sessions with a
licensed driver who has at least five years of driving
experience.
Before the student applies for his/her license, a parent or
guardian (who has held a valid driver license for at least five
years) is required to provide a minimum of 50 hours of supervised
driving practice of which 10 should be at night. The Department of
Licensing (DOL) will require the parent/guardian to certify that
these conditions have been met when the student applies for her/his
driver license.
Several driving schools have opened since the DOL became the
oversight agency for commercial driving schools. Many provide
excellent training, but some do not. Whether you choose the Seattle
Public Schools traffic education program or a commercial driving
school we recommend that you consider the importance of enrolling
your student into a reputable school.
Department of
Licensing web page
For more information, send email to Gerri Miller at gemiller@seattleschools.org
Traffic Education Office
1330 North 90th Street
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 252-4735
Related Sites:
Washington State Department of Transportation
Traffic Safety Information Village
Washington Traffic Safety Counsel
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Traffic Education
Pages
American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association
Kenny Morse
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
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