DRIVING TOWARD EXCELLENCE VERMONT

DRIVER EDUCATION IN VERMONT  Driver Education is free and offered in every public high school in Vermont during the regular school day through the Agency of Education  Private driving schools also offer driver education through the DMV to those students who aren’t able to fit driver education into their schedules (usually the AP students and the younger students who may not be able to get driver education when they are 15 at school). DMV schools also offer driver education to adults.  Vermont offers a program

NHTSA EVALUATION 2011 Recommendations Completed  Establishment of the Driver Education Certification Service  Hiring of a Driver Educator into the Driver Training Coordinator Position at DMV  Professional Development Requirement for Private Driver Educators (40 hours every 2 years in order to relicense (Regional Forums, Summer Summit, and VDTSEA conferences)  Change in the insurance verification requirement for DMV schools

Recommended Forms Completed  Professional Development Preapproval form  Professional Development Log Sheet  Parent Teen Driving Agreement  Parent Debriefing Form  Course Evaluation Form for Parents and Students

PARENT NIGHT  Provide materials and examples to schools that did not currently hold a parent night  Provide Parent Supervised Driving Guides and ways to help support what is done in driver education classes  Provide Tips For Parents Of Teenage Drivers and Review State GDL Laws  Remember you are a role model.  Require safety belt use.  Supervise practice driving.  Restrict passengers.  Choose vehicles for safety, not image.  Prohibit the use of cell phones, alcohol and other drugs

EVALUATION OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS  Scheduling a 2 hour observation of classroom at license renewal time  Scheduling a 2 hour ride along observation of BTW at license renewal time  Driver Training Coordinator provides feedback to driving schools and instructors in the form of a letter  Driver Training Coordinator provides links to the latest and most current information and materials as well as pertinent webinars  Compliance check on classroom, vehicles, curriculum, and equipment is taking place at the two year renewal time as well

DRIVER EDUCATION CURRICULUM REVISION  Several meetings have taken place to date  Curriculum presented from Oregon, AAA, NIDB, and ADTSEA  Possible funding issues  Hope to adopt a new curriculum soon

Hopes for the future?  Strengthen our GDL law with a night restriction Current VT GDL : Permit at age 15,DE is required before age 18 for licensing, must hold the permit for a year and have 40 parent hours recorded/or with an unimpaired licensed operator over the age of 25, 10 hours must be at night, clean driving record. Licensing allowed at age 16 with first 3 months alone, or with a licensed operator over the age of 25 and others, second 3 months can have siblings with them, after 6 months may have friends up to the number of safety belts in vehicle  Strengthen our Safety Belt law by making it primary  Adopt a new driver education curriculum and curriculum content standards  Have fully funded positions for all three DE coordinator positions: State level, AOE, and DMV  Increase driving hour requirement from 6 to10