roadwise.Open study app

Oklahoma driving lesson · Getting Your Oklahoma License

Driver education and the GDL law

A 3-minute lesson from the Oklahoma course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.

Study this lesson in the app Back to the course
Read time
3 minutes
Course unit
Getting Your Oklahoma License
Checkpoint questions
6
Source pages
8

Oklahoma recognizes three forms of driver education: public school courses, commercial driving schools and Parent-Taught Driver Education. Any course certified by Service Oklahoma counts toward your license.

Know the rule

Parent-Taught Driver Education was enacted November 1, 2001, for students who can't receive driver education in school or through a commercial driving school. It is the newest of the three forms.

Handbook p. 8 ↗

Parent-Taught Driver Education

An alternative to conventional driver education, recognized by Service Oklahoma, offered as correspondence study through approved Parent-Taught providers.

Handbook p. 8 ↗
30 hours

Classroom training required in Parent-Taught Driver Education

Handbook p. 8 ↗
55 hours

Behind-the-wheel training required in Parent-Taught Driver Education

Handbook p. 8 ↗

Know the rule

Parent-Taught is not free (approved vendors charge a fee for the curriculum) and it is not a fast-track way to finish driver education.

Handbook p. 8 ↗

Know the rule

Driver education does not have to be given by a high school. Any course certified by Service Oklahoma counts, including parent-taught courses and commercial driving schools.

Handbook p. 8 ↗

The Graduated Driver License (GDL) program eases new teen drivers into full privileges as they gain experience. Oklahoma's teenage drivers have more crashes than any other age group, which is one reason teen insurance premiums are so high.

GDL (Graduated Driver License)

A program that gradually phases in driving privileges for new teen drivers as they gain experience behind the wheel.

Handbook p. 8 ↗

House Bill 1599 limits a teen with a restricted license to:

  • Driving only from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
  • Exceptions: driving to work, school, church or related activities
  • One passenger, unless all passengers live in the same household
  • Both limits are lifted while a licensed driver over 21 is seated next to the teen
Handbook p. 8 ↗
25 percent

of 16-year-olds get a traffic ticket or are in a crash during their first year of driving

Handbook p. 8 ↗

Know the rule

If you are convicted of a moving violation, you stay at your current GDL level (learner or intermediate) until 6 months from the date of conviction have passed.

Handbook p. 8 ↗

Know the rule

All 50 states have some version of a Graduated Driver License law.

Handbook p. 8 ↗

Put it into practice

You have a restricted license and want to drive three friends from different households to a 9 p.m. movie. The time is fine (before 10 p.m.), but you may carry only one of them unless a licensed driver over 21 sits next to you.

Check your understanding

Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.

How many hours of classroom training does Oklahoma's Parent-Taught Driver Education require?
  1. 10 hours
  2. 50 hours
  3. 30 hours
  4. 15 hours

Answer: 30 hours

Parent-Taught Driver Education requires 30 hours of classroom training.

Handbook p. 8 ↗
How many hours of behind-the-wheel training does Oklahoma's Parent-Taught Driver Education require?
  1. 20 hours
  2. 30 hours
  3. 10 hours
  4. 55 hours

Answer: 55 hours

Parent-Taught Driver Education requires 55 hours of actual behind-the-wheel training.

Handbook p. 8 ↗
Is Oklahoma's Parent-Taught Driver Education program free?
  1. No, vendors charge a curriculum fee
  2. Yes, it's fully funded by the state
  3. Only if the student is under 15
  4. Yes, but only for the classroom portion

Answer: No, vendors charge a curriculum fee

Parent-Taught programs are run through approved vendors who charge for the curriculum.

Handbook p. 8 ↗
According to the manual, what happens to about 25 percent of 16-year-old drivers during their first year of driving?
  1. They fail their first driving test
  2. They get a ticket or crash
  3. They upgrade straight to a Class D license
  4. They lose their learner permit

Answer: They get a ticket or crash

The manual cites this statistic as one reason for the GDL program and high teen insurance rates.

Handbook p. 8 ↗
A GDL driver is convicted of a moving violation. What happens to their license level?
  1. Their license is revoked for a full year
  2. They immediately move up a GDL level
  3. They stay at their GDL level for 6 months
  4. Nothing changes at all

Answer: They stay at their GDL level for 6 months

A moving violation conviction freezes a driver at their current learner or intermediate GDL level for 6 months.

Handbook p. 8 ↗
All 50 states have adopted some version of a Graduated Driver License program.
  1. True
  2. False

Answer: True

The manual confirms all 50 states have their own version of GDL laws.

Handbook p. 8 ↗
Take the lesson checkpoint in the app

More in Getting Your Oklahoma License

All Oklahoma lessons