To What Extent 1 To What Extent are Rural Parents Involved and Willing to be Involved in Driver Education?

With a growing interest in increasing parental involvement in driver education, it is important to find out what parents are doing and willing to do. Two-hundred-forty-seven parents of teenagers taking driver education classes across the state reported how much they were involved in driver education currently and their willingness to be involved. The results indicated that most parents were not very involved with their teenagers ’ driver education class outside of providing additional practice driving. However, of parents reported that parents should be required to be involved, but preferably through written materials sent home and access to information over the Internet, and not by attending classes or behind-the-wheel instruction. Preferences did not differ by school size. In addition, over 70 % of parents would want information on all nine topics that we asked them about and some additional topics that they volunteered. Overall, the findings indicate that although parents may not be taking the initiative to be active in their teenagers ’ driver education classes, they are more than willing to receive the information