Getting your permit is the start to the exciting path to getting your driver’s license, and beginning this year sophomore driver’s education students will be getting a modernized curriculum on the ins and outs of driving.

Driver’s Ed. Teacher Mr. Jeff Rearick stressed that a new cellphone law added in New Jersey has been one of the main focuses during his lessons. With the increased usage of technology in today’s society, lawmakers have been following in its footsteps in the means of enacting new laws to preserve the safety of drivers amid this booming rise in cell phone use. Rearick explained that the law, simplified, is enforced “anytime a cell phone is in use [by the driver] while the car is running”.

This includes anytime the car is stopped at a stop sign, traffic light, in traffic, or any other time the car is moving.  The only exception to the rule is when the car is parked in a designated parking area such as the shoulder on a highway in emergencies or in other parking spaces. The cell phone law is an important piece of the new curriculum the Driver’s Ed. teachers are required to teach this year. Back in August, they were informed that the original four tests, given to students in the process of getting their blue cards, had been increased to 7 tests. The lawmakers in the state of New Jersey had decided that the original four tests were too similar. The new tests bring a new focus on GDL laws for first year drivers. The seven tests have a more significant difference in difficulty levels than years prior, but they still ask for the same information in their questions and they are still graded the same, they require an 80% or higher in order to pass and attain a blue card.

In order to prepare to teach this new information, the WTHS Driver’s Ed. teachers met and were given CD copies of the tests. With these copies, they researched the material and compared the tests. The teachers explained the important parts of the new materials to parents on Back to School Night while teaching the information is new to them, Rearick felt that, “The new information is more beneficial to the students, it concentrates more on what they can and can’t do”.

In the midst of new materials, the basic laws and rules are still being taught, mainly concentrating on the first year of driving (GDL Laws), the strict passenger/curfew laws, and rules regarding the six hours road test. Along with laws, penalties are also covered in class, most importantly the fact that if any laws are broken during your first year of driving can result in the new driver’s license being suspended.

When all is said and done, the most important thing about Drivers Ed. comes down to the responsibility of both the teachers and students.  The teachers are responsible for teaching new and old information to students in order for them to be able to drive.

Rearick expressed, “Students are responsible for learning the information, and understanding the seriousness that comes with driving”.