New Rule For Drivers’ Ed in Louisiana
If you've never been issued a drivers' license, the State of Louisiana has specific requirements that must be met before you can get one. First and foremost you have to complete a certified driver's education course provided by a secondary school or a licensed third-party provider. If you're 18 or over, you must complete a six-hour pre-licensing course and have 8 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction. Teens 15-17 must complete 30 hours of classroom instruction.
In taking the course you'll learn the fundamentals of being a safe and responsible driver including the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to operate a car or truck safely. You'll also become familiar with Louisiana traffic laws and how to drive in hazardous conditions. (At this point I'm thinking that most people in Shreveport must have obtained their licenses in other states that don't require driver's ed, because the way they drive would indicate they never took a driver's education course anywhere.)
Now there will soon be another instructional requirement imposed by the State. A measure that passed both the House and the Senate is now awaiting the Governor's signature. The bill requires driver's ed teachers to instruct student drivers how to conduct themselves if they are pulled over, including where to position their hands and what paperwork they will need to present to the officer that stopped them.
To insure that the message is received, the Office of Motor Vehicles will be adding questions pertaining to the subject into the drivers' test.
According to Louisiana Radio Network, Lafayette Senator Patrick Cortez says it helps officers when drivers know how to act during a traffic stop. Cortez said, "From the police officers' perspective, every day when they pull someone over, today is worse than it was yesterday, this year worse than it was in years past. So their anxiety is at a heightened level as well."
Governor Edwards is expected to readily sign the bill into law.