Our California Highway Patrol

The California Highway Patrol is the finest law enforcement organization in our country.

When it was founded over 75 years ago, its mission was to enforce the traffic laws on county and state highways.

While the Patrol has grown over the years, traffic safety remains its primary focus. I'm proud to have been a member of the California Highway Patrol for over 40 years. Although I'm now retired, I'm still very involved.

Traffic Safety

Driving in California is an ever increasing challenge. Every year, thousand of new cars and new residents are added to our already crowded streets and highways.

Traffic congestion on California urban freeways is increasing an average of 10 percent a year, costing motorists nearly $8 million in lost time and excess fuel use each day, according to the California Department of Transportation

Driver Education and Training

I'm especially concerned with the skills of teen drivers in California.

We have enacted a graduated licensing program to educate and train our new drivers:

• Driver education courses at 15 years old.
• DMV written license examinations for their learner's permit beginning at 15 1/2 years old.
• "Behind the wheel" driver training lessons by DMV licensed instructors.
• At least 50 hours of practice driving with a parent or other adult.
• DMV driving exam on the public street with a DMV examiner beginning at 16 years old.
• Provisional drivers license for teens with key restrictions until 18 years old:
     • No teen passengers for the first six months of driving.
     • Restricted driving hours.
     • Zero tolerance for alcohol or drugs while driving.

Where to Start:

Parents should take an active interest in their child's driving education. Drivers education may very well be the most important class your child will ever take. There are many more options available now than when I was a child. In those days the public schools offered driver education and driver training to all students. Today, most California high school students take driving classes from private schools.

The Internet has created new ways to study drivers education - the "rules of the road". Your child can study online or with a home study workbook course. It gives parents a chance to be more involved in the learning process. Cal-Driver-Ed is one of the pioneers in home study driver education.

Regardless of where your child takes driver education, they will need to enroll in a local driving school to take the "behind the wheel" drivers education classes. California requires a minimum of six hours of lesson spread over at least three days. California Driver Training has a list of local driving schools in your area.

I encourage the parents of any teenager to become fully involved in your child's driving education. It may save their life.