Taking drivers education courses in person can be time-consuming and difficult to fit into a busy schedule. But driver education is necessary to drive. Luckily, there are other options, like online driver education courses, which can provide a number of benefits to students.

Driving can be an extremely intimidating thing to learn, but once you get the hang of it, it can become second nature. Many of us transition from nervous teens who refuse to hold the steering wheel any other way than with our hand at 10 and two. But we quickly become adults who make it home after a long day of work and don’t actually recall driving at all, however, driving still needs to be taken as seriously as possible. You are, after all, driving a large and dangerous machine.

Drivers education courses will teach you a number of different things to help ensure that you understand the rules of the road and will hopefully be a safe driver. While many teens view drivers ed as a stepping stone to getting behind the wheel, this is an important course that should be taken seriously and will teach you important things. After you receive your certificate of completion, you will be able to start practicing driving. What you learn in your drivers ed course will be useful to drive safely on the road.

With modern technology, it is easier than ever to do most things online, from shopping to connecting with friends to online classes. Taking courses online have made it easier for people to work toward degrees and certifications while sticking to their own schedule. You can even work on getting your driver's license online! With our online driver education course, you can garner your permit from the comfort of your own home and on your own time.

Picture this: you, behind the wheel of a car, driving on the highway with confidence, WITHOUT a responsible adult in the passenger seat. Driver Education is a huge step toward turning that day-dream into reality! You can be independent and have the freedom to travel anywhere you want once you’ve earned your driver license. But with the current state of the world, it can be difficult to find availability in traditional classroom driver ed courses. That doesn’t mean you have to put your dreams on hold.

At Pacific Driver Education (PDE) we offer an online driver ed course that can help you learn the ins and outs of driving safely in your own home, at any time of day. There are so many benefits to online driver education, you can read about them in our previous post HERE. For now, let’s talk about what to expect in our online driver ed course.

Pacific Driver Education offers an online driver ed course that can be completed any time and anywhere you have an internet-connected device.

When it’s time for you to learn how to drive, whether you’re 15 or 50, our online driver ed course can help make the process simpler for you. Especially in today’s uncertain times, taking your driver ed class online can keep you on track to getting your driver license.

Our online driver ed course can help you learn the ins and outs of driving. You’ll learn all the rules of the road and you’ll know how to be a safe driver before getting behind the wheel.

Oregon, just like the rest of the United States, has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For many, it’s interrupted their lives, kept them from living life as usual, and has even had an impact on their driving habits. There’s an estimated 20% decline in the number of cars on the road nationwide, as people think about which trips are essential, and which are just for fun.

As your driving habits change, so should your cleaning habits. As both the CDC and WHO have reported, one of the simplest ways to keep yourself healthy and safe during this challenging period is to just wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. While it’s easy to keep our hands clean throughout the day, the same can’t always be said about your car. Here at Pacific Driver Education, we’re all about traveling safely throughout Gresham and the rest of Oregon. Right now, part of that safety means keeping your car clean, so here are few easy ways you can keep your car spic and span, and more importantly, sanitized.

Whether you’ve just started driving or you’ve been driving for years, it’s important to brush up on the skills that will help you to avoid auto accidents. While you probably do your best to avoid accidents, there are some proactive steps you can follow to protect yourself even more.

The Pacific Northwest is packed full of beautiful wooded areas but driving in the woods can be dangerous. If you’re planning to check some of these places out, there are a few safety precautions to consider as visibility is low and the roads can be confusing to navigate. Here are our tips so that your upcoming adventure in the woods is safer.

We are always on the lookout for quality instructors to add to our team at Pacific Driver Education in Gresham. Learning to drive is something that the vast majority of American youth will go through during their teenage years, and some of them will have better drivers-ed experiences than others. We also train many people who may be coming back to driving later in their adult life for various reasons. We strive to provide instructive and highly engaging courses so that when students look back on their driving education, they remember a positive experience.

Driving instructors in Oregon come from all kinds of environments. Having a background in some kind of teaching or coaching certainly helps, but is not required. Driving instructor jobs are very attractive due to their flexibility. In many cases, they can be part-time work, a great fit for people who are retired or someone who is simply looking to pick up a second job. There are also those who make a full-time career out of teaching people to drive, which is another option. We do our best at Pacific Driver Education to provide flexible schedules for our instructors.

You may have just gotten your U.S. Driver’s License, or are still in the process of going through driving school. Even if you’ve been a legally licensed driver for a while now, driving in other countries probably rarely crosses your mind.

Although we put a heavy emphasis at Pacific Driver Education on training new drivers to help them prepare for the American DMV test, we thought it would be fun to explore the vastly different driving laws and cultures outside of the United States.

You’ve just finished all of the classes at your local driving school in Gresham. You know how to drive safely and securely on the road. But that’s not why your friends are hesitating to get in your car when you offer them a ride. Instead, it might be that your car’s interior is something akin to a pig stye.

It might seem like something simple to do, but it’s surprising how quickly the cleanliness of your car can get away from you if you aren’t diligent about it. Here at Pacific Driver Education, we work with drivers of all skill levels, and levels of cleanliness. That’s why we put together this quick guide on keeping your car looking its best.

Whether you are training for an upcoming driver’s test, celebrating the accomplishment of passing your exam, or just getting back out on the road for the first time in a while, you have a vehicle to accompany each journey with you! This car might be “used” as opposed to genuine “new” status, but regardless it is new to you!

As you gaze over your new vehicle, you notice how clean it looks, and instantly know you would prefer to keep it that way. With all of your friends, family, and even animals wanting to check it out or hop in for a ride, you realize it may be more difficult to keep it clean than you had thought.

Have no fear! Pacific Driver Education is here to provide you with several tips on keeping that “new” car clean! Pacific Driver Education has been serving the state of Oregon with ODOT approved driver education for years, and we have seen thousands of cars in the process. Some of those cars are impressively pristine, while others are an utter mess. Read on to see how you can upkeep your car and avoid being one of the messy ones.

Depending on the time of year that your teenage driver gets their license, they may or may not have had an opportunity to get to practice good winter driving habits. But regardless of whether or not they got that much needed cold weather driving practice, you can be certain that winter is coming.

Winter driving conditions like snow, poor visibility, freezing rain, black ice, and to be frank, other drivers, all put your teenage driver at an increased risk for an accident. In today’s blog from Pacific Driver Education, we will examine a couple of the rules that your teen can use to help them prepare for winter driving so they can be as safe as possible. That being said, the professional driving instructors here at Pacific Driver Education in Gresham feel that these are great tips for everyone.

To learn more about our driving lessons for teens, adults, or fleet drivers, visit our service page online. You can also call or fill out our online form to request a call or email to get more information about our driving school.

It doesn’t matter how old you are when you get your very first car, it feels like your entire life has just blossomed like a butterfly from a cocoon. It doesn’t even really matter if your first car is a hand-me-down from another family member, a proud purchase that you saved for years to make, or a generous gift from mom and dad for your sixteenth birthday because that car is yours no matter where it came from or what it looks like.

In today’s blog from Pacific Driver Education, we’re going to teach you how to take great care of your car. From basic maintenance to establishing a loving moniker, we will help you express your pride and love for the vehicle that will always be your first.

Driving a car looks pretty easy. I mean, there are those pedals on the floor for “stop,” and “go,” there is the wheel for turning, and you know you need to wear your seat belt. What else to it is there? The answer? A LOT!

Driving a car is one of the most complex mental and motor tasks that a person can perform. Managing three vectors of acceleration, staying aware of the conditions, cars, and signs around you, and reacting to dangerous and unpredictable situations are all normal experiences pretty much every time you get into a car.

In today’s post from Pacific Driver Education in Gresham, we’re going to cover 10 important tips for new drivers. These tips are meant to help you keep all of the safety-oriented items and good habits at the top of your list when you get into a car, so you can go out and be a responsible driver.

To learn more about Pacific Driver Education or to enroll in one of the programs at our driving school in Gresham, visit us online or call us at (503) 766-3567.

Our list does not cover topics that are against the law like failure to wear your seatbelt, driving drunk, or speeding. These are illegal actions that every single driver on the road needs to obey. If you’re not remembering them, then any other tips we can give you aren’t going to do you, or the people on the road with you, much good.

According to a 2016 study by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, teenagers (ages 15-19) made up roughly 6.5% of the driving-age population of the United States but accounted for just shy of 8.5% of total damages in auto accidents — a whopping $13.6 billion dollars worth.

In today’s blog from Pacific Driver Education, a well-known driving school in Gresham, Oregon, we will take a look at the four highest risk factors for teen drivers, so you can talk to your son or daughter about the kinds of driving behaviors to avoid.

We will also share a little bit about how a driver education course from a reputable driving school can reduce your teenager's risk of an accident, and how it can help you rest easy knowing that your teen is prepared to be on the road, because no matter what the risk factors are, inexperience on the road is the biggest challenge facing your teen. When faced with unsafe, irregular situations, they simply don’t have enough practice to be much help to themselves. With Pacific Driver Education, you get them the hours behind the wheel they need to be a safer driver.

We’ve all been there — seeing a cool car drive by, having a serious conversation with a passenger, getting lost in a really good audible book, or we pull into the driveway at home and realize we’re not sure how we got there. This is distracted driving. It’s not just texting while driving, pulling up directions on your phone, talking on the phone, or scrolling through Facebook. Even though using our phones is most likely the biggest cause of distracted driving, there are many other things that can take our attention from the most important task: driving.

Pacific Driver Education is passionate about protecting every driver on the road, all of the passengers, and even all the dogs in the cars! We offer a range of driving lessons for teens and adults alike to help drivers learn the rules of the road, how to be a confident driver, how to recognize distracted driving, and how to avoid it.

There’s nothing that gets even the most skilled driver’s heart racing like having to parallel park — especially when the space is tight and there is any traffic around. Even though it’s not a required part of the Oregon DMV drive test, mastering this essential skill is a must if you want to confidently drive the streets of Portland or anywhere else.

At Pacific Driver Education, we strive to help teenagers and adults alike the necessary driving skills to be confident drivers — and parkers. If you’re just starting out driving, our DMV-certified instructors will make the process as simple and as fun as possible. If you’re an adult and are just learning to drive, we can help you gain independence and confidence behind the wheel. Contact us today to sign up for a driver education course.

There are many very significant milestones that children go through — their first steps, first words, first day of kindergarten, first day behind the wheel of a car — and each of them can be very exciting and incredibly stressful for parents. If you’re the parent of a 15-year-old who has gotten their learner’s permit and they’re geared up and ready to hit the road, there’s a good chance you’re dreading the thought of them putting their hands on the pedals and hands on the wheel.

One great option is to sign them up for private driving lessons with Pacific Driver Education, but even with driver education courses, kids still need plenty of practice time, and they need to be supervised by an adult. So when it comes time to taking them out on the road, how do you stay calm and reassuring? Here are some tips from our ODOT-certified driving instructors.

If you already have your driver’s license, do you remember how you learned how to drive? Who taught you how to drive? Many of the people already on the road learned how to drive from either of their parents, and they still remember feeling frustrated when a parent slammed on the imaginary passenger side brake pedal when they came up to a stop sign too quickly. But believe it or not, there are better ways for someone to learn how to drive.

The weather in Portland and Gresham County doesn’t get too extreme in the winter, but for the couple days when it does snow, the roads can be treacherous for inexperienced drivers. For teenagers or young adults who haven’t been driving for very long, or who are completely new to driving, wet or icy roads are not only hard to drive on, but can also increase the risk of an accident.

At Pacific Driver Education, our drivers ed classes are geared toward helping teenagers and adults learn how to drive, learn the rules of the road, and teaching them to feel confident behind the wheel. Our DMV-certified instructors strive to teach sessions that will give students real-world experience and knowledge so that when the weather does get messy and dangerous, they can still drive safely.

Ideally, if the weather is bad enough, you will stay where you are. However, if you must drive and are still new to driving, or have never driven in inclement weather, here are some tips to ensure that you and other drivers on the road are safe.

When teenagers first begin to drive, there is a lot of excitement and possibility — they can drive to school themselves, drive to soccer matches, to friends houses on the weekends, to the mall. They first get behind the wheel and there may be some initial hesitations about being in control of such a large machine, but after a few weeks, and then months, it starts to become more natural. But there’s one final step that they have to overcome before they can really taste the freedom of the open road — the DMV driving test.

At Pacific Driver Education, we have taught hundreds of students to overcome their initial nervousness, watched them become masters of the wheel, and have seen them pass their tests with flying colors. But for some, the nervousness that comes before taking that final test can be overwhelming, often enough to cause them to fail the test. At our driving school, we offer the tools and problem-solving skills for students to feel confident on the road, but it’s often a challenge to teach a new driver how to not be nervous for a test.

If you’re preparing for your final DMV drive test, here are a few tips to keep in mind that will help calm you down. If you want additional driving lessons before you take the test, get in touch with Pacific Driver Education in Gresham, OR to sign up for our driving school.

Whether you’re a delivery service, landscaping company, or a moving company, businesses with a fleet of vehicles face an additional risk that businesses without fleets don’t have. When employees are regularly on the road, there needs to be standards of safety that every driver follows to ensure minimal accidents. Fleet driver training programs from Pacific Driver Education seek to help businesses who want to increase fleet safety on the road and to hopefully lower insurance costs. So, if you’re considering signing up for a driving safety program, here are a few of the most significant benefits.

If you want to learn more about our program, get in touch with us today and we’ll be happy to answer any of your questions.

Fleet vehicles make up a big part of the traffic on the roads, whether it’s delivery services, truck drivers, or salesmen who own company cars. What we may not realize is that a part of this traffic may be international drivers who aren’t familiar with U.S. traffic laws or other rules of the road. Some international companies bring their employees into the U.S. for special training, conferences, or even jobs. But if you have been out of the country, or have tried to drive out of the country, you know that not every nation has the same rules or customs when it comes to driving. That’s where Pacific Driver Education comes in.

Located in Gresham, Oregon, Pacific Driver Education offers fleet driving lessons for anyone who wants to be a safer, more efficient driver. Our driving school has DMV certified instructors who have years of experience and offer thorough training in a variety of situations. Whether you’re an employee of a local fleet, or this is your first time driving on American soil, we can help you learn the rules and drive confidently behind the wheel.

Certified Instructors

When you’re ready to enroll in driver’s ed classes here in Oregon, either for yourself or for a loved one, the first thing you need to consider are the instructors. In addition to being easy to work with and thoroughly trained in driver’s education, the driving instructors need to be properly certified.

Here at Pacific Driver Education, all of our instructors are certified, both by the DMV and by ODOT Transportation Safety Division, so you know you’re getting quality instruction that’ll get you up to speed quickly and turn you into a confident driver ready to safely maneuver Oregon’s roads!

First, They Increase Your Confidence Level

When you’re able to work directly with a professional driving instructor, you have someone on your side who is highly experienced and has been chosen for this job because of his or her temperament and ability to remain calm during potentially stressful situations. Having an instructor like this working with you on your driving skills helps you to develop your own confidence in your driving abilities.

It’s far better to work with a qualified instructor who has been specifically trained for the job than to try to learn from a relative or friend. With professional driving lessons, you’ll learn to drive the right way from the start, and you’ll develop a sense of self-assurance in your driving skills that you may not get when you’re working with a relative whose expectations may be unrealistic.

In a previous blog, we discussed ways to improve your confidence in the car. To go along the same theme, this blog is going to dive into defensive driving. As you become more and more familiar, comfortable, and confident in your driving skills, defensive driving is another mode of thinking you can master.

At Pacific Driver Education, we offer private driving lessons to teenagers and adults who want to learn how to drive and experience the freedom of being able to go wherever the road takes you! But before you start planning your next road trip, here are some tips to remain as safe as possible, and to prevent other drivers from getting into an accident as much as possible.

Right now, if you’re just learning how to drive, it’s scary. You’re in complete control of a moving vehicle that weighs somewhere around 4,000 pounds (depending on the vehicle, of course). Driving gives whole new meaning to staying in the lines, doesn’t it? Not only do you have to steer the car in a straight line, around curves, bends, and corners, but you have to know the feel of the breaks, where the windshield wiper controls are, where the lights are, and you have to be aware of what’s around you, including other cars, motorcycles, bicyclists, pedestrians, stop signs, traffic lights, emergency vehicles, and more. Not to overwhelm you, but driving can be, and is, a big responsibility. So we understand, that will all of this pressure, trying to be a confident driver on top of everything, seems impossible. But that’s what Pacific Driver Education is here for — to help you learn and master the art of driving a car!

If you’re looking for private driving lessons in Gresham, OR, look to us. We’re experts at driver’s ed classes and know the best ways to teach a new driver.

After months of driver’s ed and months of driving around with a licensed driver, you finally feel ready to take your driving test! So that means spending hours in line at the DMV, and then being told to wait in another line for someone to administer the test. However, scheduling your driving test in Gresham is now easier than ever. The Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division lets you schedule your driving test online, so you can spend less time waiting in line and more time driving! If you’re still not confident about being able to pass your driving test, get in touch with the team at Pacific Driver Education, we’ll teach you the basics of driving and the big and small details that you need to know for your test.

It’s becoming easier and easier to get distracted while driving. With construction going on throughout the Gresham area, motorcyclists, fun tunes on the radio, your phone going off, birds — there are a variety of things that can quickly grab your attention from the road. It’s during these split seconds when your eyes are turned and your mind is unfocused, when accidents can happen. At Pacific Driver Education, our top priority is to help young and adult drivers alike learn to focus on the road and become better drivers. Through our drivers ed classes, you can become a more confident, proficient driver.

Imagine driving along, listening to the music on your radio, and all of a sudden you hear a thud and your car jumps a bit. You didn’t see anything in the road, so you simply keep driving. Anyone who has been in a car accident, however severe, knows it can be stressful and overwhelming, making it difficult to know what to do. In many cases, an accident will clearly involve another car or object, but there are other situations where you’re not sure if you hit something or not. Should you keep going and forget about it? Should you stop and investigate? What should you do if you do find that you hit an animal or even a person?

In a news release from the Oregon Department of Transportation, a new law will clarify your responsibility in this situation. The new law will go into effect January 1, 2019 and includes information about what to do if you think you hit someone or something. The new law will require you to stop your car and investigate the area if you think that you have hit something. It will also require you to call 911 if you learn later that you did hit someone or something that results in an injury or fatality.

We’re all guilty of having bare spaces in the trunks of our cars where there should be emergency items. Sometimes, it’s out of procrastination, and other times, it’s out of pure naivety. At Pacific Driver Education LLC in Gresham, Ore., safety is a top priority taught in our driving lessons, whether that’s literally behind the wheel or keeping safety items at-hand in your vehicle. Contact us today to enroll in our adult or teen education programs!

There are several items you should keep in your car, such as your driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance, but here are a few of the ones that can keep you safe in times of an emergency.

On the top of a parent’s list of worst nightmares is receiving a phone call that their child has just been in a car crash. Teens, wide-eyed and excited about getting their first driver’s license, are more prone to motor vehicle crashes, primarily due to their naivety and inexperience. Car accidents are, unfortunately, are a leading cause of teen deaths in the U.S. At Pacific Driver Education LLC in Gresham, Ore., we put your child’s safety first, ensuring they receive the proper education about being behind the wheel. Contact us today to sign your teen up for our driving lessons.

Here are four common causes of U.S. car crashes that involve teen drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

If you are like most fleet managers, you have an annual goal of hitting a certain safety-related number. That might be reducing the number of accidents that occur within the fleet, how much repair work is needed on your vehicles or even your worker's compensation claim rates. Safety is a big deal when it comes to the fleet. Not only does it keep your team safe, but it also keeps your costs low and your reputation within the community a good one. So focusing on safety is a priority, but when it actually comes to improving your team's safety record, how do you do it? Pacific Driver Education offers fleet safety training as one of our driving lessons on offer in Gresham. These courses focus on helping drivers build up the skills that they are going to need in order to stay safe on the road and reduce their risk of being in a preventable crash.

Our classes are just the beginning, though. While on-going education plays a huge role in helping to keep the members of your fleet safe, it's not the only thing you can do. Here are some more tips on how you can make this year the safest year yet for your fleet.

Oregon drivers are not strangers to the danger of heavy rains! Our driving school in Gresham makes sure that all of our students are taught the necessary skills to get safely through these nasty driving conditions. Whether it's your first time driving in heavy rains or you've been driving on Oregon's wet roads for years, it's a good idea to review the basics and keep them fresh in your mind. It can help you avoid an accident the next time you are out on the road.

Keep your car rain-ready.

The best defense against the rain is a good offense. That means keeping your car ready for the weather, including making sure your wiper blades are in good working condition and that the tread on your tires isn't too worn. You should also make sure your vehicle is regularly serviced. You should also consider keeping a first-aid kit, a blanket, and some bottled water in your vehicle in case of an accident or if you need to pull out and wait out a storm.

It's a nerve-wracking thing to send your teenager out onto the road! Our driving lessons in Gresham can be a great first step to making them road-ready, but it's not the only thing you can do. Here are some of our favorite ideas for helping teens stay safe on the road.

Talk to them about the dangers of distracted driving.

Distracted driving is a growing cause of accidents on the road. Distractions take the form of eating, putting on makeup, changing the radio station, and talking with friends. But the worst offender of distraction in the car is looking at a smartphone. Talk to your teen about the dangers of distracted driving, particularly when it comes to using their phone in the car. Some smartphones offer a car mode that stops texts and other alerts from coming through when the car is in motion; encourage your teen to use it if it's available. Let them know that causing an accident isn't worth glancing at their phone, and no message is so important that it is worth the risk. If they have to look at their phone, encourage them to pull over to do so.

According to recent statistics from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), 66% of traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving and road rage. As tragic as these statistics are, the real tragedy is that all incidences of road rage are avoidable. It’s simply a matter of drivers being made to know that driving isn’t simply about how skilled one is at operating a motor vehicle; it is also about having the temperament to deal with difficult people and situations. One of the things our private driving lessons in Beaverton, Oregon teaches drivers is courtesy, which goes a long way in preventing road rage incidences which unfortunately have been known to result in fatalities. Other ways to avoid road rage include:

Decades ago, when automotive driving technologies were relatively simple, the decisions consumers had to make about which features to choose in order to remain safe in their vehicles were simple too. People back then had to decide, for example, whether or not to add airbags, ABS brakes, etc to their purchases. Today, with the advent of sophisticated in-car technologies, the decisions of which safety features to choose have gotten more complex. There is a whole plethora of devices that are far more sophisticated than the air bags, ABS brakes etc of the past. Here are a few of the more useful in-car technologies that, along with the proper driver education, will practically ensure your safety.

Have you ever started out on a journey, traveled a great distance and then ended up at your destination with little recollection of the trip in between? If you have then you have not entered the Twilight Zone. You are in instead likely to have undergone a phenomenon called “highway hypnosis.” Highway hypnosis (or white line fever) is a trance-like mental condition that some people undergo after having traveled great distances. It is brought upon by the monotony of the road. Obviously, this creates a hazard for the all motorists including those who are paying attention to their environment. At Pacific Driver Education, where you can learn to drive in Beaverton, Oregon, we would like to give you the following tips to avoid this hazardous state.

The transition from winter to spring can be challenging for many motorists. After all, wind, rain, potholes and other obstacles can suddenly reappear at a moment’s notice. What this means is that spring should also be a time when drivers adjust their habits in order to fit the season. With that in mind, Pacific Driver Education – where we give private driving lessons in Beaverton, Oregon – would like to offer you some driving tips for this temperamental season.

Spring has arrived this month after what has been a fairly moderate winter for most of us. (The notable exception to this unusually restrained winder was of course blizzard “Stella” which inundated the northeast with incapacitating snowfalls.) And as happens every spring, many motorists will see the warmer temperatures as a cue to take their motorcycles out onto the open road. However, as unnerving as this fact may be for some drivers of four-wheel vehicles and greater, motorcycle riders are a fact of life on our roadways. Moreover, even though their presence may pose a challenge to our ability to see them clearly, motorcyclists are entitled to every consideration that is due to other kinds of drivers. Because we know that you want to do your best to assure that our roadways remain safe for all vehicles, we would like to offer you some guidelines on sharing the roadways with motorcyclists.

One of the reasons it is so important for beginning drivers to take lessons from professionals such as those who teach at our driving school in Portland Oregon is that doing so helps students develop good habits and confidence from the beginning. All too often, people learn to drive from people who have developed dangerous driving habits. This only passes such poor behaviors on to new generations of drivers. Our private driving lessons in Beaverton Oregon are designed to help you meet any challenge that you are bound to encounter on the road and to avoid the following mistakes that are all too common with inexperienced and improperly trained drivers.

There are several factors that help to determine how safe your driving experience will ultimately be. The first is proper training from people like our experts at Pacific Driver Education. Instructors at our driving school in Portland, Oregon take seriously their role in making the drivers on our nation’s roadways safe. We do this by giving them comprehensive instruction in handling vehicles of all kinds. However, another factor that determines how safe a driver will be on our roadways is the kind of vehicle he or she decides to purchase. Some vehicles have a better safety record and better safety equipment built into them than others. The difference in safety features can directly impact the chance that a driver will survive in a crash. Here are some of the safest new cars (2016-2017) on the road as determined by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute (IIHS-HLDI).

Think about the most important components that every successful party should possess. Food and drinks, great music, decorations and good friends instantly come to mind for most people. However, at parties where alcohol will be served the most important component of all is the designated driver. Though this position may be much maligned and ridiculed all throughout popular culture, the responsibilities given to the designated driver are enormous. He/she ensures that the party is not only fun but safe as well. He/she is a life saver ultimately and because of this it is important that he/she knows how to help ensure the security of all party goers. Here are some designated drivers tips that will help keep everyone safe and make the party a more enjoyable experience.

According to AAA, 46.9 million Americans traveled 50 miles or more during Thanksgiving of 2015. This year as family eagerly anticipate visiting loved ones and relatives for the Thanksgivings/Christmas holidays, at least as many people are expected to take to the roadways. Added to this, as it is every year, is the stress of packing, finding a house sitter, making reservations, planning out the best route(s) etc. However, perhaps nothing is as stress producing for parents of young children as the anxiety that comes with traveling with toddler, infants and small kids. This anxiety can itself be a hazard to safe driving as parents attempt to entertain, appease and control their children during long interstate journeys. That is why we at Pacific Driver Education offer the following advice for parents traveling with small children during the holiday season.

There’s no getting around it – fleet managers must possess a very unique set of skills that include administrative abilities, communication skills and stick-to-itiveness. As critical as these skills are, effective fleet managers must also know how to recognize and avoid mistakes that can compromise the fleet’s safety and productivity. At Pacific Driver Education we teach fleet management safety and fleet management safety courses but it is up to businesses to hire professionals who meet all of the above prerequisites. Common mistakes that all fleet managers should avoid include the following:

Is your teenager prepared for all of the variables that await him or her on the open road? You hope the answer to that question is yes, but how can you be sure? When you enroll your teens in one of our Oregon drivers education programs you can sleep tight at night knowing that we are arming them with all the tools they will need for a lifetime of good habits behind the wheel. Our number one priority is making your teen a safe and responsible driver. Now let’s talk about some of those aforementioned variables that your teen may encounter…

Let me tell you a little story about a friend of mine’s daughter, let’s call her Marg… When Marg was a teenager getting ready to take her DMV road test she looked at the bare-minimum requirements of test-taking eligibility. She spent a few hours in a classroom before getting her permit and then she spent a couple of hours behind the wheel with some random instructor before taking her road test. All she cared about was getting that license in-hand. On the day of her road test she felt prepared. She showed up at the DMV, she filled out all the paperwork and then she got behind the wheel. Within seconds of being on the road Marg had already made a maneuver that counted as an automatic fail. Now what you should know about Marg is that she was a very beautiful, charming and charismatic 17 year old, and her DMV tester was easily swayed by her charms. He let the test continue even after the automatic fail and when they got back to the DMV and he informed her of the infraction she began to cry. He felt bad and told her that he hadn’t written it down and he would pass her anyway. Now let me tell you, that happened 10 years ago and to this day I will not get into a car if she is behind the wheel. Don’t you want your teens to learn good driving habits right from the start?