Many upperclassmen drive themselves to school, but parking spots are hard to come by and availability drains fast. Juniors have the chance to apply for a parking spot for a quarter, and seniors are guaranteed to have a space for the entire school year. With students able to get their license as young as 16 according to Texas law, many rely on their own driving abilities to get to and from school each day. Texas instructional programs teens can use vary from online only programs such as Aceable, or closer community instruction such as Austin Driving School.
Even though people in Texas can get their license as young as 16, many believe this age is too young. According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), 2,611 people under the age of 18 were killed in car accidents in 2023. THe NHTSA debated if this was because of lack of maturity or experience.
Safety is one of the most important things to consider when approaching driving; throughout the permit process, getting your license or any time a teen or adult enters onto a federal road. Companies Aceable and Austin Driving School prioritize driver’s education and safety to learn about the ways of navigating the road. Westlake Police Officers Shelly Borton and Brent Kelly manage school zone roads frequently, and have advice for new drivers.
“Slow things down,” Officer Borton said. “Take your time to give yourself enough time to get there without having to rush. I would take everything very slow as a new driver, and really, really, really try to focus on not touching your phone while you’re driving.”
Some students have firsthand experience of crashes and dealing with the aftermath of one. Students shared their readiness for such a situation.
“I was very nervous and shocked that it just happened, even though I did brace for impact, but there was no time to reflect when I exited my vehicle,” senior Julie Jordan said. “I wasn’t hurt, just very shocked and shaken up. I don’t really remember Aceable covering car accidents specifically. I do remember them talking about if you get pulled over by a police officer but not what to expect in a car accident. I knew what to do because my parents had taught me.”
Students and new drivers rely on prep programs to be informed on how to approach driving in Texas. There are so many choices ranging from in-person driving school to an online platform such as Aceable, to learn how to drive. But just how prepared are these programs making students?
“No driver’s ed program can prepare you for actually being on the road,” A Westlake student said. They asked to stay anonymous so as to not give information about their crash details.
“I’m saying the best experience you’re gonna get is actually driving and getting your hours in, and preferably getting more hours than the recommended 30, especially at night. Aceable is really good for getting the coursework and for learning what you need to know.”
The student had firsthand experience dealing with a fenderbender, and the aftermath of dealing with an accident.
“I was in the turn lane, where you yield to the traffic on 360, and as I was coming up West Bank drive, the car in front of me started to merge into traffic,” the student said. “They started to go and so I started looking in the blind spot to make sure that there was room. And while I was checking the blind spot and seeing if there was enough room so I could go, the car in front of me stopped merging in the traffic and hit their brakes. While I was looking away, I turned back and I didn’t have enough time to fully stop.”
Accidents happen and are unavoidable at the end of the day for newer drivers. But how drivers deal with tough situations is what matters in learning the roads.
“Never expect anyone on the road to do anything you think they will,” the student said. “Don’t assume someone’s gonna do something and never look away from the road. Be very cognizant of what’s going on around you.”
The student also shared how his Aceable program impacted his experience in a minor crash.
“I think that Aceable wouldn’t prepare anyone for that moment, Aceable is more about the rules of driving, and not necessarily scenarios of what’s gonna happen,” the student said. “I think it’s more up to how much experience you have on the road, driving beforehand, not necessarily the driver’s ed.”
Other students that either have their permit, or are preparing to get their permit, are doing driver’s ed to get ready for federal roads.
“A lot of the videos helped me to really get to know what it would be like to be driving from the driver’s perspective,” freshman Kennedy Carlson said. “I feel like Aceable was a good tool, but your parents can also help a lot.”
Aceable seems to be the most popular option for an online program for students, especially those with busier schedules like Carlson. But Aceable has its own problems for driver’s ed prep.
“I would rather do it online, because you can do it whenever you want, and it’s more visual than going in person,” Carlson said. “You can bypass the slides easily, but I would listen to the recordings so I could be more informed.”
Aceable is described on their website as a tool “empower(ing) people to achieve their goals through delightful and convenient licensing courses.” It is supposed to inform people about their driver’s education, but how informative is it on preparing for the actual road?
“There was a lot of information on laws and ticketing. I felt like it wasn’t really necessary, and I’ve learned a lot of that from my parents.” Carlson said. “Overall, I thought it was a good program. I feel pretty prepared to drive.”
Another popular program just 5 minutes away from school is Austin Driving School. Students who used Austin Driving School shared their opinion on their level of preparedness for the road.
“The reason my family and I chose it was because my older brother also did his driving through Austin Driving School,” sophomore Elle McDaniel said. “I think in-person driving was the most helpful. The 14 hours of in person driving was due to their availability and my planning.”
McDaniel felt prepared for most aspects of the driving world, but had a few problems of her own on approaching real world situations in driving.
“I would say the instructors during in-person training don’t focus on car crash situations as much.” McDaniel said. “I think a lot of the driver’s ed online programs focus on the dangers of drunk driving, and making sure you drive defensively in order to protect yourself. But I do think that in-person driving is more about what to do to prevent car crashes, and driver’s ed is supposed to teach you what to do if that were to happen, as well as the consequences of not driving defensively and driving safely.”
Sophomore Addie Arbour who had also done Austin Driving School had her own opinions on how prepared she felt to go behind the wheel based on her training.
“The parent taught Austin Driving School program wasn’t very specific,” Arbour said. “So it’s kind of like what your parents know and they pass their experiences on to you, and the course itself teaches you about stuff you’re not supposed to do. But the program itself does a pretty good job, but I wish that it was a little bit more personal.”
Westlake police officers Brent Kelly and Shelly Borton have their own experiences with dealing with teen drivers in school commissioned areas.
“I think there’s been some problems within the school zones, of major issues with kids that know where the school zones are, but don’t pay attention to the giant flashing yellow lights,” Kelly said. “School zones are very sacred, and you really don’t want to go faster than normal. I think that’s the biggest thing for me.”
In the 2025 school year, Speech and Debate students discussed one of their congressional debate docket topics raising the Texas driving age from 16 to 18 to consider if the percentage of wrecks across the U.S. would decrease. The main reason for the change was preparedness for driving at a younger age.
“The biggest concern that came up when we were debating that topic was that 16-year-olds need to be able to drive to go to work or support their families, but then there was also a concern with unsafe teenage driving,” junior debate member Anya Gordeev said. “Another big thing that was brought up was that in people below 18, they statistically had higher chances of getting in car accidents. They had less experience; they typically were just concentrated on the wheel in the first place. So as a result of that, they got into more crashes.”
“Accessibility is a big factor for me,” junior debate member London Costello-Buckle said. “Even though the fact is that more people under 18 do get into accidents, everyone can get into accidents regardless of what age they are. Accessibility is important because if we were to bring the age up to 18 again, there are so many people who live in really underserved and isolated areas that can’t go anywhere. Sometimes there’s no public transportation that services certain areas.”
Even though some people may argue against teen driving, junior debate member Oscar Carrasco believes lower experience always comes with beginning a new skill such as driving.
“I think that less experience is the reason why people or typically younger drivers have statistically higher chances of getting into a car accident or the reason minors have more accidents occurring per capita is because they just don’t have a lot of experience,” Carrasco said. “I think that transitioning the driving age to 18 would still not give drivers good experience, regardless of age. If you’re going on the highway, you’re probably going to be a little bit more nervous if you’re a beginning driver.”
Whatever platform students use for their driver’s education, their number one priority should be safety. Students should always be careful to eliminate dangerous driving situations and be as informed about the roadways as possible, and learn about how to stay clear of getting in a crash. Accidents are inevitable, but community provides multiple opportunities to stay ahead in the driving game.
“[…] You can’t prevent accidents 100%, but you can eliminate unsafe things within your control,” Jordan said. “I’m a safe driver. I know I’m well equipped to handle the roads out there. I wouldn’t say if you’re just first getting your license and you feel underprepared about getting in a vehicle and driving, then don’t do it. You need more practice, even though you might have the title of your driver’s license and you pass your tests. Always make sure you are well equipped to handle real life situations and the road.”
