In Your First Driving Lesson, What Is Involved?

Your Driver's Ed course is complete, your permit is in hand and you have signed up and scheduled your first driving lesson with Coastline Academy, which is beyond exciting. Now your nerves are kicking in, as you are wondering what will happen on the first lesson. Don't worry, as we let you know what is involved with that first driving lesson at Coastline below!

Overview of Lessons

At Coastline, we understand that every student is different and will learn at a different pace. Also, depending on where the lesson is taking place, there can be a different set of practice opportunities available. So, this is a simple overview of the skills we aim to teach in a typical lesson.

For the lessons, it depends on your state requirements, but in California they require you to take six hours of behind-the-wheel training with an approved professional driving instructor. Those six hours need to be broken down into three 2-hour lessons and cannot be completed in one lesson. Because of that, we will take a look at three lessons and what a student can expect to learn and work on during each lesson!

Lesson 1

Once you are in the car with the driving instructor, there are a few things to cover before moving out onto the street. This includes:

• Adjusting your seat
• Adjusting the mirrors
• Adjusting the steering wheel
• Seat Belts
• Proper hand placement on steering wheel
• Foot pedals and foot placement on those pedals
• Changing gears
• Parking Brake
• Turn Signals
• Windshield Wipers
• Speedometer Check
• Shoulder/Blind Spot Check
• DMV Pre-Drive Checklist

After working through all those checks and adjustments, it is now time to hit the road! For this first driving lesson, your instructor will work with you on the following techniques:

• Acceleration
• Braking
• Space Cushion
• Speed Consistency
• Steering
• Stopping
• Yielding
• Speed Bumps
• Lane Position
• Scanning/Aiming High
• Crosswalks
• Intersections
• Stop Signs
• Signal Lights
• Right Turns in Residential Areas
• Left Turns in Residential Areas
• Hand-over-Hand Turning
• Pulling Over to the Curb
• Reversing

Again, everyone is going to move at different speeds, so you may or may not get through all of this on your first lesson. A breakdown of all the lessons can be found here! And before heading out on that first lesson, check out some Day 1 tips from our instructors!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our friendly support staff. If you want to start your driver's training journey with Coastline Academy, make sure to sign up for Drivers Ed and book your driving lesson today.