Driving schools around Ontario are required to cover a set of topics by the Ministry of Transportation. While each school may have its own methods and techniques, each must make sure that all students learn the same material.
As you look for a driving school in Brampton, Mississauga, or Toronto, keep in mind some of these key curriculum points as you decide on a driving school in Brampton.One key benefit of using a Ministry-approved driving school is that you may be able to take your G1 road test earlier than with non-approved schools.
Basic Requirements
Ontario sets both the time and content requirement for the curriculum at approved driving schools. Regardless of the particular structure of the lessons, the instruction should be learner-centred. That is, activities encourage active participation, self-directed learning, personal experience to apply, and working at your own pace.
Schools may use a variety of activities including group discussion, role-playing, video, direct instruction, and free and open questioning. To encourage learner-centred education, classes may be no larger than 40 students.
Each school must provide at least 40 hours of instruction. At least 20 of those hours are in-class instruction, while 10 must be in-vehicle. The other 10 hours are flexible time, and each school may use it for additional classroom or in-vehicle time, provide time on simulators, or give instruction on-line. Around Toronto, Malton, and Brampton, the driving school Five Rivers Academy offers a full package including the on-line instruction.
During in-vehicle training, each instructor may have no more than two students in the vehicle, and no student should receive more than 2 hours of in-vehicle instruction per day. No more than 5 hours per day of classroom time is permitted.
Curriculum Basics
The foundation for driver’s education is knowing both the rules of the road and the vehicle which travels on the road. The rules for driving largely revolve around safety both for you and other drivers, and cover issues including speed limits, turn signs, and road markings. In addition, rules regarding emergency vehicles and impaired driving.
Basic instruction in the parts of the car form the other part of the foundation. Learning what all the controls do—turn signals, brakes, light switches—and knowing how to check your vehicle before driving is important to your ability to drive safely.
The Physical Side of Driving
Driving requires a certain degree of physicality. You have to coordinate two hands, two feet, two eyes and ears, and an alertly-moving head to do it safely.
Learning how to track other vehicles and your surroundings visually is an important skill. By tracking, you’ll be able to quickly apply the brakes when needed. Starting a car from park and getting it to road speed is a crucial part of driving’s physicality. Learning how to drive in traffic provides more opportunities for coordinated movement.
Getting out of a slide on ice is one of the more intricate acts drivers undertake, as is driving at high speed and passing on the highway. Varying speed as needed and maintaining speed present changes for coordination. Parallel parking is one of the more difficult physical driving activities. Your driving school in the Brampton area will make sure you have plenty of practice in all these maneuvers
The Psychological Side of Driving
The core of the in-class driving instruction is about the humans who do the driving. Human error causes most accidents, after all, whether from simple carelessness or gross negligence.
One key thing is controlling your own behavior. First, you need to be willing to adjust your driving behavior depending on all the circumstances. For example, when driving in the rain, going slower than the speed limit is advisable, and you should be willing to add time to get to your destination.
You also need to take your emotions into consideration. If you are worrying about some item of personal business, you will not be paying attention. If someone cuts you off, you may become angry, but road rage can lead to bad consequences on the road.
Working to maintain positive driving attitudes and resisting negative influences, including peer pressure, is part of this part of a driving school’s curriculum. Learning to be a responsible driver—and what your obligations are—is also part of it.If you are involved in a collision, you have certain responsibilities. If an emergency vehicle overtakes you, you should pull over. You learn to remember that other people are on the road, and your driving should respect them.
Each car should have a margin of safety around it. Learning how to keep safe spacing is a mental skill as much as a physical one. Finally, responsible drivers also know how to drive with greater fuel efficiency and how to dispose of batteries, fluids, and other car parts.
Sharing the Road and Attention to Task
Sharing the road combines the physical and psychological skills. People need to share the road with other drivers, and remain fully aware of the driving situation always. Avoiding distractions, including conversations while driving, is important, as is communication with other drivers by use of turn signals and proper braking.
Sharing the road also requires attention to the road. Attention can be impaired by many things. Your mood can affect how well you pay attention to driving, as can changing stations on the radio and conversations with friends.
Driving can also be impaired using drugs or alcohol, as well as fatigue, medication, and illness. These things can affect alertness and judgement.
Risk Management
Driving requires the ability to manage risks. Part of managing the risks is remaining alert, keeping vision going 360 degrees around you, and being aware of blind spots.
As you drive with your instructor around Brampton and Toronto, you will practice the skills of active attention—keeping your eyes going around you as you drive. You’ll learn to anticipate foreseeable problems down the road, including observing the traffic light two blocks down turning yellow to seeing children playing in a yard.
Learning how to perceive risk is also an important part of a driving school curriculum. You learn now not to be over-confident in your ability. You also learn about road conditions and the other common risk factors can affect young drivers.
Your driving school will work with you to provide you the best possible driver’s education. Five Rivers Academy, training drivers in Brampton, Toronto, and Mississauga, is here to help you be the next safe driver on the road.