Students and experts offer testimony on a bill that would allow for online driver education

By Roxy Vanderhoff, for the Community News Service

“One of the most terrifying times for me as a parent was when my kids reached the age of driving,” Sen. Wendy Harrison, D-Windham, told the Senate Committee on Education while introducing S.259. 

Harrison is sponsoring the bill, which would allow students ages 15 or older to enroll in online, asynchronous driver education. 

The online version of driver’s ed would align with the Novice Teen Driver Education and Training Administrative Standards, a set of guidelines used by schools across the country.

Harrison said that the bill would still require at least six hours of in-person, behind the wheel driving with an instructor — part of the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicle’s Standard Driver Training. But that provision isn’t included in the current draft of S.259. 

Andrew Prowten, director of education approvals for the Vermont Agency of Education, testified that if the bill passes, it would be in violation of that current state policy, creating “a backlog of students waiting for in-car instruction.”

Much of the testimony on the bill, however, focused on what it could mean for driver safety.

Harrison said she thinks S.259 would make driver education more accessible and that it has adequate safety measures.

“My support for this bill is based on an assumption that in-person training is preferred and that online would only be used when in-person is not available. Online is preferred to no instruction at all,” she said.

Dan Goodman, manager of public affairs for AAA Northern New England, echoed Harrison’s sentiment. 

He said AAA is at the forefront of driver safety research, “from the legalization of marijuana, to all the new technology that’s in vehicles, to distracted driving.” 

Goodman said he supports S.259 because there’s a growing number of teens who are waiting until age 18 to get their license, meaning they don’t need to take driver education at all. He cited geography, lack of instructors and busy schedules as reasons behind the trend. 

“That’s the group we want to capture: those people that are skipping driver’s ed,” he said. 

Data show that teens who skip driver education get into more crashes.

Students who are currently enrolled in driver education programs, and driving instructors, brought safety concerns to the committee’s Feb. 19 meeting.

“I’ve done online courses before,” Gage Huard, a student at Williamstown Middle High School, told lawmakers. “To me, they make me not as interested. I don’t retain as much information.”

Ellie Hayes, a fellow Williamstown student, agreed with Huard’s point. She said Zoom classes, which are currently offered and have a teacher present, can be useful. But she believes asynchronous video classes wouldn’t provide students the opportunity to ask questions. With a digital course,  instruction would be left to the parents and guardians, Hayes said.

“Not every adult has the skills, or understanding, or the mental strength to drive with a license as it is right now. There’s a lot of very unsafe adult drivers,” she said. “And to then have their child be in the car with them — it can be stressful, it can be nerve-wracking. Some kids experience a lot of pressure, some kids experience no guidance at all. You don’t know that they’re getting the practice that they need.” 

S.259 is still in the Senate Committee on Education. 

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship