For the parents of our driving school students:
WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU!
The first step toward a provisional (teen) license is to take Driver’s Education. This is a 25-hour safety course, required by the state for anyone under 17 1/2. There is no new law that changes the legal driving age to 18.
Bring your teenager in; they can start right away. (Your presence at sign up is not required.) Our class times are as follows (we keep the same hours throughout the year, and will post any holiday changes for at least two weeks prior to a holiday, and place a special message on the voice mail, one week prior to all holidays)
Monday - Thursday 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM
PM
(During school breaks, lecture is offered on Tuesdays and
Thursdays only;
testing offered Mondays thru Thursdays)
Call for a schedule: we can fax or send it out right away!
Saturday 10AM - 3:30PM
(Both testing and lectures offered every Saturday)
(We will allow a student to come in on Fridays to re-take his or her final exam, but no classes are taught on Fridays. )
Class Reservations:
Just give us a call and reserve your seat in class. If you attend five Saturdays in a row, you will finish the course (though the classes do not have to be taken on consecutive weekends – call for the lecture schedule). All classes are taught from 10AM – 3:30PM. Just ask for a calendar, and we can email or fax it to you right away!
If it turns out that the student cannot attend a class previously signed up for, be sure to leave a message on the voice mail. We will get the message, even if you call in the middle of the night (should it occur to you after office hours.)
Forms of Payment:
We take cash, Visa, MasterCard , Discover, American Express and personal checks.
If you use a credit card, please send the student in with your credit card (along with your authorization), or come in to the office to pay yourself. We cannot charge your card without the card in-hand.
Personal checks require two weeks for processing before we issue certificates. We charge a $20 fee for all returned checks.
Refunds are available up to 60 days after sign in, for the unused portion of any course plus a small transaction fee. Your student's tuition is good for three years, so no matter how long he/she takes to complete the course, additional fees should not be required. (This means that until three years have passed from the last time we talked to you, or until the student obtains his or her license, we are happy to continue the course for the student — brush-up testing, lectures, worksheets etc. are free for as long as it takes).
Extra behind-the-wheel lessons are offered for the discounted rate of $90 per lesson. Duplicate certificates are available for $5 each, so make sure your student puts them in a safe place until test day.
Most students finish the course in five sessions (each session is 5 1/2 hours long.); no one takes less time (UVC 11113, 12814.6). Please make sure that if your teen attends a session, he or she is able to stay for the entire session. If your teen has a reading or comprehension difficulty, it may take longer to complete the course, but we will be able to prepare him or her for the test. This may take additional lectures and testing, but it will happen. We ask, though, that the teen comes prepared to learn. We will not tolerate a disruptive student. If the student is disruptive, we will send him or her home for the day, if such disruptions happen twice, their tuition is forfeited. Please know that the final exam is not a measure of your teen's intelligence. It is tricky. (You are welcome to try it out, yourself!)
This is a simple, yet time-consuming course. Our students do remarkably well at the DMV, but to help your student out, be sure they take the DMV written test as soon as possible after the final day of class. (Passing our final is an absolute requirement in our course. Please do not ask that we waive the test.) If more than two weeks pass from graduation day to test day, the student will have more difficulty on the test, and it would be wise to come in again for a refresher test. (This, of course is free to all of our students.)
You are welcome to attend the class with your teen (You may want to come in separately, but you are welcome in class, especially if you want to know what or how we teach.)
Homework?
Yes, it is best if the student brings home their handbook, and reads it at home. If they do not study the handbook, you can expect that the course will take longer, as there is no way they will pass the final on their first try without at least some home studying. Sometimes, for those students with reading difficulties, we will send worksheets home.
Final Exam:
This is the final for our course only. Once they pass the final, and have attended the required 25 hours, a certificate will be issued. If the student is under 15 1/2, he or she will also have to show enrollment in a driver training course to even obtain the permit. If the student is over 15 1/2, he or she can obtain a permit after the first course, but cannot start driving until they start a driver training course. If the student is over 17 1/2, no certificates are required at the DMV, but they will have to wait until 18 to obtain a license.
DMV Written Test:
This is offered at any DMV Monday through Friday. Please read the envelope we provide with the application and certificates for information on what to bring.
Driver’s Training:
Driver’s Training is a mandatory course for anyone wishing to obtain a license prior to their 18th birthday. While you might feel you can teach your teen satisfactorily, the course must be taught by a DMV-licensed instructor. The course is six hours long—we split the training into three two-hour sessions. (Each session will take about 2.5 hours.) Additional lessons are available, should you not feel comfortable teaching your child after the initial training. Please do not expect your teen to be proficient at driving after only six hours of training.
We teach the lessons 'back-to-back', which means that the first student drives for his or her two hours, at the end of the two hours, he or she arrives at the next student's home, who drives the first student home. We do make every effort to keep the consecutive students in the same area, but that is not always possible, so drive time must be added to the students' lessons. Many states do require this 'observation' time as part of the student's training. While California does not require this, we do feel the time spent watching the other student drive is valuable. You can request, for a fee of $20, that your student not take his or her lessons 'back-to-back.'
We will pick your teen up wherever necessary, as long as the pick-up point is within our area. (We go as far as Von’s on Sunset and PCH in Malibu, Ventura/Sepulveda in the Valley, La Brea to the East, and Westchester to the south.) Make sure that any changes are made well in advance of the lesson scheduled. Last minute changes are not impossible, but can be difficult to arrange.
We use late-model (automatic, 4-cylinder, four-door) Toyota Corollas for our training. We find this car is extremely easy to drive, and the best choice for teaching basic driving skills. There is an additional brake installed in the car for our instructors, and they are trained in techniques that are effective in making the car do anything necessary. While accidents do happen (this is a risk of LA driving that cannot be entirely eliminated) they are rare, and minor in our experience.
You or your teen can call and schedule appointments up to one month ahead of time for any day of the week. (These may even be made for the same day when our schedules permit.) Holiday and weekend appointments should be scheduled well in advance. We will not schedule a teenager who does not currently possess a valid permit. We do not make one-hour appointments.
Driver’s Training does not automatically cover freeway driving and parallel parking. Once the student masters basic driving skills, freeway driving and parallel parking may be included, if time permits, at the discretion of the instructor. Manual transmission lessons, as well as SUV lessons are available, but are not included in the driver-training package and must be purchased separately.
Your 16-year-old teen must have completed Driver’s Education & Training, at least 50 hours of practice, (ten of which are at night) with you, and had a permit for six months to be eligible for a provisional license. Your signature is required on your teen's permit, along with your license number as proof that this practice has been done. This signature, along with the two certificates (Blue and Gold) will be required for the behind-the-wheel test at the DMV.
It usually requires two weeks notice to book the test. The DMVs in this area are usually open Monday through Friday until 5PM. (They are also open from 8am-12noon every third Saturday of the month.) Bring the permit, the registration and your insurance card for the car you are using. Make sure you have practiced in an area similar to the DMV of your choice, so your teen is familiar with the type of driving you will be tested on Do NOT drive on the route before the test, nor ask our instructors to take you on the route. (This is illegal!)
Insurance:
Talk to your agent about the insurance for your teen. Good grades, multiple cars in the household (with one particularly inexpensive and paid for as the primary car for your teen) and good driving records can help. Many insurance companies will not charge for the teen until he or she obtains a permit. State Farm is our insurer, whenever in our car.
Provisional Restrictions:
**New (as of January 1, 2006) Provisional Restrictions:
For the first twelve months of your teen's provisional license, they may not drive with anyone under 20 in the car unless a licensed driver over 25 is in the car. (There are exceptions, should driving under such conditions be a necessity; just ask us and we can help.)
Additionally, for the first twelve months of your teen's provisional license, they may not drive between the hours of 11PM and 5:00 AM, unless someone over 25 is in the car with them. (Again, there are exceptions, just ask our office.)
Teenage Driver Concerns:
Keep in mind, distractions are a major contributor to teenage driving accidents. We recommend adhering to the DMV policy of no other kids in the car for as long as possible.
We recommend pulling the fuse on the teen’s car radio for the first six months. (They need to concentrate on the act of driving: radios, friends, food and cell phones are all major distractions.
You are legally responsible for anything that happens when your teen is driving until he or she reaches the age of eighteen. If they are driving a car you purchased for them, or if your name is on the insurance policy or registration of their car, you could also be held legally responsibleafter the age of 18. You can, of course, cancel his or her license at any time until their 18th birthday. (Yes, for any reason.)
The Drive Test At the Department of Motor Vehicles
You will need an appointment. Call 1-800-777-0133 and ask for a behind-the-wheel test at the DMV of your choice. Any DMV will do, and while it is true that the more rural DMVs have a less complicated route, it is a good idea to have your teen test at a DMV whose route emulates the kind of driving he or she will have to do in everyday driving (we recommend Santa Monica). Choose the smallest, preferably automatic, least-expensive and easiest-to-drive car you own for the test. You cannot rent a car for the drive test (though you can use our car for the test, call for fees and restrictions.). Your teen will not be allowed to drive an un-insured car, or a car that is missing any safety equipment (lights, horn, belts, defroster).
Be sure to have your teenager bring:
An official birth certificate or passport
Driver’s Education Completion Certificate (OL237)
Driver’s Training Completion Certificate (OL 238)
Social Security Card
Vehicle’s Registration and Insurance (current)
Entire permit (signed by both you, us and the student)
The test will take approximately 30 minutes, but can take several hours if the DMV is backed-up. Go as early in the morning as possible, for the shortest wait. Basic driving skills are covered, with special emphasis on safe driving skills, traffic checks, appropriate maneuvers and car control. (There is no testing criteria for freeway driving or parallel parking.) Your teen must have completed at least 50 hours of practice with you to expect to pass. It is easily determined when a student does not possess this experience. Most teens fail on lack of experience i.e., making a bad choice when confronted with a special situation. There is a two-week wait between teen driving tests, with a maximum of three attempts.
Additional Materials
Websites:
DMV Driver Handbook (DL600)
Parent-Teen Training Guide (DL603)
Westwood Driving Teen Guide
Uniform Vehicle Code 12814