Center for Distance and Independent Study
Driver Education, One Half Unit

The purpose of this lesson is to provide you with a basic understanding of Missouri's driving laws. A knowledge of these laws will prepare you for the written test you must take to get a license or permit as well as each time you get behind the wheel. If you do not reside in Missouri, you will need to review your state's driving laws for your own personal use.

The purpose of this lesson is to help you become acquainted with the basic transportation system in which we, as drivers, must function. A knowledge of this system will better prepare you for the driving task. You will use the information in this lesson as you continue the course and when you finally get behind the wheel.

The purpose of this lesson is to provide you with an understanding of traffic signs, signals, and pavement markings. It will help you decide how to respond to them.

The purpose of this lesson is to provide you with an understanding of how a car's controls and devices operate. It will also help you become familiar with how to stop, start, and drive both an automatic transmission and a manual transmission (stick shift) vehicle.

The purpose of this lesson is to help you get ready for the driving phase of your education. Because this course does not offer a lab phase, you may benefit greatly from doing plenty of reading on the processes used in driving. We will be exploring the IPDE process thoroughly; we will briefly learn about other systems for learning defensive driving.

When we studied your state Driver Guide, we spent some time looking at some of the state laws that affect drivers. Now we are going to look at some other laws—nature's laws—and their effects. Natural laws can cause your car to go out of control unless you act to alter the situation. The purpose of this lesson is to study these laws and discuss how to compensate for them.

Now that you have practiced IPDE, do you think it is time to start driving your vehicle? The purpose of this lesson is to help you develop some driving skills. If you are not yet old enough to drive, be sure to review it before you start driving. I sincerely believe that reading this lesson will be helpful for your parent or any other person who may be teaching you.

One of the most dangerous places we drive is through an intersection. Any time there is the possibility of conflict with cross traffic, you can predict more problems. The purpose of this lesson is to examine intersections more closely and to develop your use of the IPDE process at intersections.

When a bicyclist or a motorcyclist is in a collision, the car or truck driver usually says, "I just didn't see it in time." If you are going to be a cyclist or a driver, there are certain safety measures you can take to help reduce those collisions. The purpose of this lesson is to introduce and examine those measures as well as the rules for sharing the roadway with trucks, buses, and pedestrians.

Because most of us live in towns and cities, we have a genuine need to learn to drive in complex traffic situations. For those who drive temporarily in cities, there is a need to study city driving as well. The accident rate in cities is high; there are more hazards per mile in the city. Because we all have a personal stake in the topic at hand, the purpose of this lesson is to prepare for driving in city traffic.

In the previous lesson, we learned that there are more collisions in city traffic than in rural areas. I do not want you to think that I am belittling the severity of those rural collisions, because almost twice as many people die on rural highways as on urban streets. Driving in the country may appear to be easy. In reality, it is not. The purpose of this lesson is to introduce and examine the conditions and hazards of highway driving.

As you gain more experience and confidence in your driving skills, you will eventually drive on the expressway. When you practice driving on the freeway, you will need to be able to handle your vehicle at high speeds. The purpose of this lesson is to introduce the skills you will need to drive on expressways.

Even when the weather is lousy or it is dark outside, we still have to drive. For your first time or two, you should probably practice driving in adverse conditions with an experienced driver. The purpose of this lesson is to prepare you to drive in adverse conditions, with an experienced driver or alone.

At some time, we all encounter driving emergencies. They develop quickly and give us little time to apply the IPDE process. The purpose of this lesson is to discuss skills you will need to avoid emergencies. This lesson will also cover the steps you should take in the event that you are involved in a collision.

Your ability to drive depends upon a combination of your mental, physical, and emotional capabilities. In the past several lessons, we studied IPDE as a thought process. Now we will be looking at the physical skills used in the Execute phase of IPDE. The purpose of this lesson is to investigate the physical and emotional state of the driver when he/she is executing important driving decisions.

If we consider alcohol and all of the other drugs that kill young people on our streets and highways, we are looking at a major social problem. Drug use affects all of us. For that reason any driver education course you take in this state should include an extensive study of alcohol and other drugs. The purpose of this lesson is to examine the effects of alcohol and other drugs on driving.

The purpose of this lesson is to familiarize you with the hazards involved with driving distractions. Driving is a complex skill, and even experienced drivers have accidents due to distractions. This lesson will familiarize you with common distractions and describe steps you can take to avoid them and be a safer driver.

Once you have made a large financial investment in a vehicle, you want to keep it in good condition. The purpose of this lesson is to examine the maintenance procedures you can use to keep your car in good condition.

Our last lesson will be the most fun because of the topic: travel. Taking a trip can be a very pleasurable experience if you are mentally and physically prepared. The purpose of this lesson is to present some helpful hints on how to enjoy your driving.