How Many Behind-The-Wheel Driving Hours Are Required In Texas?
Before applying for your driver's license in the state of Texas, drivers under 18 must meet certain requirements, which include taking a classroom or online driver's ed course and behind-the-wheel training. But how many hours of behind-the-wheel driver's training is actually required by the State of Texas? We'll break down the requirements here.
Behind-The-Wheel Training vs. Behind-The-Wheel Practice
Let's start off with some definitions. The State Texas requires a certain number of hours of behind-the-wheel lessons and observations given by a Texas State-licensed driving school. This is often referred to as behind-the-wheel training and the section of your driver's training you can complete through Coastline Academy!
In addition to your behind-the-wheel training, Texas also requires all drivers under 18 to complete a certain number of hours of behind-the-wheel practice, which is driving done outside of lessons with a licensed adult 21 or over.
Behind-The-Wheel Training
If you are under 18, your behind-the-wheel training requirements in Texas will look like this:
- 7 hours behind the wheel: You must complete 7 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction with a professional driving instructor. During this time, you will be driving the vehicle as your instructor helps you improve your driving skills.
- 7 hours observation: - You must also complete another 7 hours of in-car observation of another driving student who is instructed by a professional driving instructor. In most cases, you will take seven, two-hour blocks of paired lessons, with one hour consisting of practical instruction and the other being observation of the other student.
Behind-The-Wheel Practice
If you are under 18, your behind-the-wheel practice requirements in Texas will look like this:
- 30 hours of behind-the-wheel practice: You must complete at least 30 hours of behind-the-wheel practice outside of your professional driving lessons and record this in an instruction log required by the State of Texas. Note, at least 10 hours of behind-the-wheel practice must be done at night. Only one hour of professional driving instruction per day may count towards your 30-hour total. All behind-the-wheel practice must be completed with a licensed adult 21 years of age or older in the front passenger seat.
In total, the state of Texas requires you to complete at least 44 hours of behind-the-wheel activity in order to be eligible for your road test.
Once all of these hours are completed, you will be able to head to the Texas DPS and take your behind-the-wheel drive test to obtain your driver's license!
About the Author
Nigel Tunnacliffe is the co-Founder and CEO of Coastline Academy, the largest driving school in the country, on a mission to eradicate car crashes. An experienced founder and technology executive, Nigel and his team are shaking up the automotive industry by taking a technology-centric approach to learning and driver safety. Having served over 100,000 driving students across 500+ cities, Coastline was recently named the 6th fastest-growing education company in America by Inc. Magazine. Nigel is a frequent podcast guest and quoted driving education expert for major publications such as Yahoo!, GOBankingRates, and MSN.