It’s not hard to find a high quality Texas online drivers ed course. A quick Google search will reveal pages of search results with dozens of websites assuring you their course is the best one at the cheapest price. Sure, they all claim they are Texas TEA Certified, but what the heck does that mean? Is a school high quality just because the Texas Education Agency certified the course? Unfortunately, no. This guide would be much shorter if that was the case!
Want The FAST Answer? This Is The Best Online Drivers Ed Course Approved For Texas
How To Find The Best Texas Online Drivers Ed Course
I've been in the driver training industry for about 15 years now. I've even helped to create course material. Needless to say, if anyone is an "insider" when it comes to online traffic schools, I'm it.
With the dramatic increase in online drivers ed schools in Texas, I decided to start checking them out one-by-one. What I ended up finding isn't good. The quality of many Texas certified teen driver courses were awful at best. The biggest issue facing online drivers ed courses in Texas is how outdated most of them have become. Most Texas online drivers ed courses were developed in the early 2000's and have seen very few updates.
Luckily, there are several schools that went above and beyond the minimum requirements set forth by the state of Texas. Here’s how to find the good ones.
7 Best Online Driver's Ed Courses In Texas For 2023
#1: Aceable
While Aceable is one of the newer online drivers ed courses, that isn’t a bad thing at all. The problem with most online drivers ed courses is how outdated they’ve become. Aceable saw this problem in the market and decided to create the most advanced online drivers ed course in the World. To do this, they raised about $5,000,000 in venture funding and have put together an amazing course. This course works flawlessly on any device (dedicated apps), has the most advanced video and animated training, includes interactive features to increase retention rates, and their customer support is second to none. If I were to sign up today, this is who I would go with. You can read an even more detailed review of Aceable here.
#2: DriversEd.com
Another great choice is DriversEd.com. this is one of the oldest online drivers ed programs out there and is also the most popular drivers ed course on the web right now. They recently updated their animations and graphics to take on more of a modern and 3D appearance. We think they did a great job on the improvements and it increased their raking on this list from #3 to #2. You can also take the first 20% of the course for free, so you can try it before you buy it. It takes between 1 and 2 minutes to sign up for free and then you can see for yourself if you like it. Otherwise, we’ve provided a much more detailed review which you can find here.
#3: MyImprov
If you easily get bored while studying, you should check out MyImprov. It is known for its engaging driver’s ed courses. Its team of educators consists of driving experts, behavioral scientists, and even Hollywood writers. Coming together, they created online programs that are highly memorable. Its fun-filled education offerings are science-backed, and different studies show that MyImprov’s driver’s ed courses effectively reduce collisions and traffic violations. To date, the school has trained over four million drivers and has helped them become safe and responsible on the road. Apart from its humorous lessons, the school also offers the best customer support experience. Its customer representatives are available to help you with your queries 24/7. If for some reason you are not satisfied with the course, they have a money-back guarantee. You can get a full refund provided you have not completed the program and taken the final exam. However, I doubt that that will be the case because MyImprov is one of your top online driver’s ed school choices.
#3: iDriveSafely
To be blunt, iDriveSafely.com is simply one of the best courses you can sign up for. This is consistently ranked one of the best, not only because of their online drivers ed course, but also for their online traffic school, ticket dismissal, and insurance reduction courses as well. This is a big company and they’ve got a lot of money to throw around. The best part of their Texas online drivers ed program is the animated cast of characters they use to help guide you through the coursework. They also offer just the right balance of text, video, games, and other interactive features. It’s quite obvious that this company wants to dominate the online driving school industry and they are steadily doing that with authority. Out of all of our TSC Certified driving schools, this is one of our favorites. Learn more about them in our more detailed iDriveSafely review here.
#4: Driver Ed To Go
Here’s a school that guarantees the lowest price. Find one cheaper? They’ll beat it. They also offer their program in text book and DVD formats if you prefer to do it that way instead of online. This needs to be done through the mail but some people prefer this method. DriverEdToGo.com has been around for more than a decade now and was one of the first online drivers ed courses to exist. They have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and the school exceeds all of our TSC Certification requirements. This is actually one of the longest running and most popular online drivers ed courses in Texas. While this is an older online drivers ed course that boasts being cheap, it is still high quality as they recently updated their courses with all new coursework and a better user platform for mobile devices.
OnlineDriversEd.com has quite a few videos, animations, games and it very interactive. At the same time, they also offer very low pricing. Customer support is available 24/7 and they also offer a money back guarantee. The reason we only rated them with 3 stars is simply due to the lack of updates to the course over the past couple of years. Other than that, they are A+ Rated with the Better Business Bureau and meet all of our TSC Certification requirements, and have a long history as they were established in 1996.
Texas Driving School is owned and operated by the American Safety Council. They operate dozens of online driving schools across the country, but created Texas Driving School just for teens and adults who want to fulfill their drivers ed requirements in Texas online. As with most Texas online drivers ed courses, Texas Driving School offers both instructor taught drivers ed as well as parent taught drivers ed. They can also work with you to find behind the wheel driving instructors. Prices are fair, they have an A rating with the Better Business Bureau, and it's one of the more affordable Texas online drivers ed courses. This course also works well on mobile devices, so if you plan on taking the course from a phone or tablet, it's a good option.
Find All Texas Online Drivers Ed Courses Approved In Texas For 2023
The first thing you want to do is find the official list of approved Texas online drivers ed courses. You can easily obtain this from the Texas Department of Public Safety website. This is a much faster approach than relying on a search engine since you don’t have to check each school individually. It is highly recommended that you stick with one of the online drivers ed courses we listed above, but any school officially approved in Texas for online drivers ed will work.
Check The Business Reputation Of Any Texas Online Drivers Ed School
One of the biggest deceptions we’ve seen on some online drivers ed courses is displaying fake Better Business Bureau (BBB) ratings on their homepage. Some schools will use the ratings of their parent companies, even though their online driving school specifically is rated poorly. Not only should you look for an online drivers education course with an A+ rating from the BBB, but you should verify that rating yourself. Don’t trust the rating displayed on the websites of driving schools. Those ratings are easy to fake. You can check any businesses rating from the Better Business Bureau website directly.
In addition, make sure you check reviews from multiple sources as well as asking around for the recommendations from friends and family. Never trust a single website to make your purchase decision, including this one. Check multiple sources to gain the best idea of what a course is like.
The Best Online Driving Schools In Texas Should Have Money-Back Guarantees
Once you’ve determined a driving school is approved by the state of Texas, has an A+ BBB rating, and has good ratings from multiple sites, you can look for the money-back guarantee. Any high quality drivers ed course will allow you to go through the entire course, up until the final exam, and get your money back. They should also guarantee that you’ll pass the written exam. That’s what you’re paying them to do, right?! Since the school is approved by the state of Texas and also has a great Better Business Bureau rating, you can bet they will follow through on any request to get your money back. If not, you have two additional places to complain. Heck, many online drivers ed courses in Texas allow you to start the course for free without any payment information. That's truly risk-free.
WARNING: Online Drivers Ed Programs Are Known For Poor Customer Service
Unfortunately, Texas online drivers ed courses do not have a great reputation for providing outstanding customer service. Once the program is designed, built, and live on the internet, computers can mostly do the rest of the work. This makes it easy for people to put in some work up front, then collect a check each day without doing any additional work. What you want to find are the companies who go above and beyond. The ones that do bother to hire a customer service staff and tech support when you need it. High quality online educational institutions offer extended customer service hours, so why should an online driving school be any different? You probably won’t need to help, but if you do, dealing with poor customer service can be a nightmare. Look for a school that offers 7 day per week customer service and tech support through phone, email, and online chat options. These courses are usually priced just as competitive as others schools, but they actually stand behind their products and services.
The Best Texas Online Driver's Ed Courses Should Have Anytime Access
One of the entire purposes of taking a drivers ed course online is for flexibility! Most online drivers ed courses offer 24/7/365 customer support, but many of the schools you can sign up for are on low quality web hosting plans, meaning their sites could go down frequently during updates or even receiving too much traffic. The schools we listed above all have 99.99% uptime so you don't need to worry about the site going down.
Any Decent Texas Online Drivers Ed School Will Include Parent Resources
If there’s one thing that drives us crazy with some of the approved Texas online drivers ed courses, it’s the lack of resources provided for parents. Somehow, mom and dad were left out of the equation with many online courses. It’s completely unacceptable! While online driver training has been shown to be very successful with teens as compared to classroom based courses, parents must play an active role in order for the training to have maximum benefit. The problem is, most parents don’t know the art of teaching a teenager how to drive and without proper resources, many parents don’t know when to step in or help. It is essential for an online course to have a guide for parents and include them into the curriculum. If mom or dad can’t make that sacrifice, an online course probably isn’t the best option.
There are 4 courses with the best resources for parents which are as follows:
Assistance Finding Behind the Wheel Instruction
Usually, the parent can act as the driving instructor in Texas. However, many parents choose to enroll their kids into a professional drivers ed course for behind the wheel instruction. This is an excellent idea and most online drivers ed companies either run their own behind the wheel course or work with other companies in your area that can help. Don’t be afraid to call their customer service number or send an email to find out about behind the wheel training and any discounts they can offer. Here is the best course to take if you also need to sign up for behind the wheel training.
What Happens After Completion Of A Texas Online Drivers Ed Course
Once the online course requirements have been completed, it’s time to hit the road! Here are some of the things you’ll need to take care of next.
Texas Online Drivers Ed Behind The Wheel Training Requirements for Parents
While you have the option of hiring a professional driving instructor to complete the 30hrs of required behind the wheel instruction (as mentioned above), parents are able to fulfill this requirement themselves. First, a parent or guardian must fill out the Request For A Parent Taught Driver Education Packet. Allow a few weeks for the Texas Department Of Public Safety to process your request and expect to receive a packet containing more detailed instructions. Included in your packet will be and training aids, the requirements needed to complete behind the wheel training, and a log to record all driving instruction time. Many of these forms will need to be sent back, so don’t lose them! Once all of the behind the wheel time has been fulfilled, it’s time to go get that license!
Notify Your Auto Insurance Company
Believe it or not, completing an online drivers ed course in Texas can land you an insurance discount from day 1! Be sure you tell your auto insurance company about your course completion and send them copies of your completion certificate. The discount is usually something small (in the area of 5%), but hey, every little bit counts!
Are Online Teen Driver Programs Effective?
The answer to this is yes but also no. As driving instructors, we generally like the interactive approach online courses can offer. It’s engaging, fun (gasp!), and we think students are able to retain information better with an interactive approach. Classrooms certainly have their advantages, nobody can dispute that. However, drivers education is something that fits really well into online formats. Giving lectures about traffic laws just isn’t very effective. Having interactive quizzes, animations, and videos to explain the laws? That actually works. With that said, some people just don’t have the will power to self-study. If this is the case, make your life easy and just go through a classroom based course. Set times, set days, and set homework. It’s all a personal preference. For the vast majority of people, and online course is much better.
Is It Better To Take Driver’s Ed Online or In a Classroom?
The quick answer here is yes. Online driver’s ed has more advantages than in-classroom education. For one, it is cheaper. The course fees are much more affordable, and you also get to save on allowance and transportation costs because you get to do everything at home.
What’s more, online offers flexibility and convenience. You study at your pace and never have to be late to class. You also get better access to supplemental materials and additional study tools. All you need is Internet access. You don’t have to worry about thick and heavy textbooks because you can save all your PDFs on your laptop or phone. You can easily switch between devices and your online course progress automatically syncs. The only real advantage of in-person driver’s ed is social interaction. However, modern technology can enable virtual connections, too.