Courtney Hergesheimer | Dispatch

Dana Goodwin, director of Advantage Driver Training in Columbus, teaches a class. He says online drivers education is no substitute for instructor and student interaction.

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Monday June 18, 2012 8:19 AM

Ohio teens soon will be able to opt to learn the rules of the road on the information superhighway.

Ohio will offer online drivers education starting in mid-September; it was one of several provisions of legislation signed by Gov. John Kasich last week.

Ohio teens younger than 18 currently must complete 24 hours of classroom instruction and eight hours behind the wheel with an instructor to obtain a drivers license. Under the new law, online courses can replace the 24 in-class hours, but behind-the-wheel training wont be affected. Online courses need the approval of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

The change worries owners of Ohio driving schools, who say that jobs and youths will be in jeopardy.

This is a disservice to citizens of Ohio, said Dana Goodwin, director of Advantage Driver Training of Columbus. Theres no substitute for instructor and student interaction. They cant even make certain the student is the person sitting in front of the computer completing the work.

Ohio has 773 driving schools. Critics of the new law say as many as half of those schools could close because of online competition, usually from out-of-state operators.

Backers of the change say online options will offer families cheaper, more-flexible alternatives to traditional drivers education. And because students still need in-car training, the supporters downplay the threat to Ohio driving schools.

See the original post:
Online driver’s training gets OK