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Winter/Spring 2009

Private Driving Schools Moving to IBOL

On July 1, 2009, the Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licenses (IBOL) will begin to govern private driving schools in the State of Idaho. The Idaho Legislature approved this change earlier this year.

Since 1988, when George Nakano opened the first private driving school in Idaho, public and private driving schools have worked together toward a single goal: putting safe drivers on Idaho roads. Despite the change in governance for private schools, the State Department of Education will continue to build this relationship between public and private driving schools and work closely with all driver education programs to ensure we accomplish our goal of training safe drivers across the state.

IBOL will establish a board of five appointed private driving school owners to oversee private driving schools in Idaho. If you are interested in serving on this board, please contact IBOL at (208) 334-3233.

If you would like to learn more about IBOL, please visit www.ibol.idaho.gov. As always, public and private driving school owners and instructors are welcome to visit www.sde.idaho.gov to learn more about driver education in Idaho.

Operating Procedures for Idaho Public Driver Education Programs

The standards for Idaho public driver education programs are being renamed "Operating Procedures" so as not to be confused with "standards and benchmarks." The Operating Procedures have been revised recently to focus on public driver education programs.

During the spring workshops this year, the State Department of Education gathered feedback from nearly 250 driving instructors on the revisions of these Operating Procedures. Thank you for all your input.

We at the Department strongly believe in local control and want to ensure all stakeholders have the opportunity to provide feedback. The proposed changes to the Operating Procedures were presented to the State Board of Education on June 18, 2009. Please review the proposed changes below and e-mail Brian Johns if you have any questions.

The Changes

Here are the highlights of the changes to the Operating Procedures. Please note these changes begin July 1st.

1. Students who complete 30 hours of classroom instruction in another state but less than 6 hours of in-car instruction may complete the in-car instruction in Idaho.
2. We define attitude for the first time as "attitude and/or behavior that detracts from safe driving or a positive Driver Education classroom environment (per school policy)."
3. Students can be failed for attitude as well as cheating, violation of alcohol and permit laws, excessive tardiness, and using a mobile device in the classroom or car without the instructor's approval.
4. Public programs must have a procedure for helping instructors identify special needs students.
5. Classroom instruction cannot exceed ten (10) hours in a seven (7) day period (No more 42/30).
6. Classroom instruction shall not exceed three (3) hours per day.
7. When it is in the best interest of the program, students may drive a maximum of ninety (90) minutes per day in 45 minute intervals. These intervals must be separated by breaks or observation periods of at least 45 minutes.
8. Students may observe up to three (3) hours per day.
9. Simulators cannot be used for any of the six (6) hours of BTW.
10. An instructor convicted of a DUI will not be able to teach public driver education for five years. Any instructor convicted of two or more DUIs will not ever be able to teach public driver ed. in Idaho.
11. New instructors must be fully licensed public educators.
12. Instructor licenses are good for two years instead of one.
13. An instructor convicted of a misdemeanor or felony crime against a child will not be eligible to teach driver education.
14. No more Initial Student Lists!
15. Any materials over $100 for the driver ed. program may be prorated over 3 years on the reimbursement form.
16. Students must be given a certificate of completion.
17. Each parent must be contacted at least once during a driver ed course.
18. Schools or instructors that receive complaints may be reviewed and placed on an improvement plan.
19. Private schools that contract with a public school must follow all public procedures and use instructors that meet the requirements for public driver education to be eligible for reimbursement money.

DETA National Traffic Safety Webinars

As state Driver Education Coordinator, I have served as a member of Driver Education and Training Administrators (DETA) since 2007. DETA is a professional organization for driver education administrators who work to improve their state programs and the condition of driver education throughout the United States.

DETA has recently partnered with several well-known organizations, such as AAA and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), to write national standards, improve communication and move driver education forward.

Currently, I serve as the technology officer for DETA and provide support to run national webinars, which are sponsored by AAA and CHOP. WE have had some of the country's leaders in traffic safety speak on a variety of topics, including National Teen Driver Safety Week, Driving While Sleepy, New National Standards for Driver Education, and Peer to Peer Initiatives in Traffic Safety.

During these webinars, the experts address issues through a PowerPoint presentation. Audience members can watch on their computers and listen in by calling a toll-free number. During the webinar, audience members can type questions and get live answers.

While these national webinars are by invitation only, PDF versions of the presentations are available online at www.detaonline.org for your use. They provide a great way to catch up on the national traffic safety scene!

Study: GDL and Simulators Improve Teen Driving

A recent study conducted by Donald Fisher of the University of Massachusetts, and sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, shows that teens who use driving simulators during driver education are more prepared to handle high-risk situations on the road.

In the study, Fisher used a state-of-the-art simulator to train new drivers in five sessions. The simulator trained students to look for high-risk situations and prepared these students for situations they may encounter on the road. Fisher's concluded that students who trained on simulators were 61 percent more likely to anticipate and glance at high-risk areas down the road during real driving scenarios.

Idaho received its first driving simulator in 2007 when a retired Boise businessman donated it to the state. This driving simulator will be traveling throughout the state and can be used during class time to train students how to drive in a variety of situations, including adverse weather conditions or heavy traffic situations.

What if you do not have a driving simulator? You can still help students learn how to drive in high-risk situations through video games, hotwheels cars or role playing. Do everything you can to get your students to look ahead and practice looking at different road situations and high-risk events before they encounter them for real on the road.