Driver Education Course

Classroom

Hybrid Class

The primary classroom option at Payson High is a hybrid of in-person instruction and online learning. Students attend 18 hours of in-class instruction and complete a series of assignments and quizzes that are estimated to take students approximately 12 hours to complete. The 30 hours instruction time is required by the state of Utah. Nebo School District and Payson High School takes this requirement very seriously. Students who miss classroom time will be required to make-up that time at a later date, possibly delaying their obtaining a driver license. Because of this strict requirement, attendance issues and the consequences of tardiness are described below.

• Attendance

  • Students who miss class MUST make up the time at a later date.

  • Students who miss more than 6 hours of class will be dropped from the course. If they wish to sign up for a future session they may be required to repay the $100 registration fee.

  • Students can make up missed hours by attending future driver ed classes at no cost to the student.

  • Class will start on time and attendance will be taken. Students who are late will be required to make up the amount of time they missed rounded up to the nearest 15 minutes.

• Attentiveness

  • Students who are disengaged during class (primarily those who fall asleep or who are on their phones/Chromebooks when they are not supposed to be) will receive a verbal warning for the first offense, and then be required to make-up 15 minutes of class time for each additional offense.

• Canvas Assignments

  • In addition to the in-person instruction there are a series of assignments and quizzes that will be provided using Canvas.

  • Students will need to complete the material with 75% or better to pass the class.

  • The assignments and quizzes are designed to take approximately 12 hours to complete.

• Parent/Teen Night

  • Attending a Parent/Teen Night presentation put on by ZeroFatalities is one of the required assignments.

  • Each session will have one in-person Parent/Teen Night. If you are unable to attend this Parent Night you may: (1) attend another in-person Parent/Teen Night at Payson High or another location, or (2) attend a webinar Parent Night. You can find schedules for other in-person and webinar Parent Nights here.

  • Spanish language Parent/Teen nights will be available periodically as well (see calendar). They will take place the same time as the English language presentation but in another room.

  • At least one parent/guardian is strongly requested to attend the Parent/Teen Night with their student. As the title implies, this meeting is to present information to the parents, not to the students. If a parent is unavailable we ask that the student bring another trusted adult (such as an older sibling or grandparent), but it is best if a parent can take the time to come.

Fully Online Class

A completely online class, administered by Utah Online School, is available but students are responsible for signing up for it on their own. There is a lot of reading and various writing activities involved and, while designed to take 30-hours to complete, may take more. Generally speaking, it is not recommended that a student take the online class. It is quite boring and requires a lot of self-discipline and motivation on behalf of the student as it is a self-paced course - but the choice is yours. 

Note: Be sure that you sign up for the course through Utah Online School. There are many private driver ed programs, that you're welcome to take, but we can only drive students who take the course through the high school, Utah Online School, or a very select few others (see registration form for complete list).

Driving Range

The driving range provides a wonderful opportunity for students to practice skills in a controlled environment. Many of these skills that students practice will be part of their final Road Exam that must be passed prior to obtaining a license.

Due to the limited space on the driving range, students from each session will be split into three range groups. Every step will be taken to accommodate students in the range group that best fits their schedule. However, the groups need to be as equal in size as possible and some students may not be in their desired group. Preference will be given based on the order that students registered for the course.

Time spent on the driving range is extremely difficult to make-up. If a student does miss a range class they must work something out with their driving instructor. If a student needs to take another slot in a later session they may have to pay an additional fee.

Students who disobey rules or who otherwise put their passengers or other range drivers in danger will be dismissed from the course. They will not receive a refund and they will not be allowed to take Driver Education from Nebo School District.

For the foreseeable future, all range driving will take place at Salem Hills High School.

Road Driving

After spending twelve hours of driving/observing on the range, students will make arrangements with their driving instructor to drive on the road. If a student misses an arranged drive time they will be required to reschedule with their driving instructor and pay $33 for each hour they need to make up (this includes drive time and observation time). Road driving typically occurs over three days for two hours each day.

Additional Requirements for a Driver License

The Written Exam

Part of the process in obtaining a learner permit is to take and pass the Written Exam. This exam is not technically part of the Driver Education Course. It is simply the first step in obtaining a license. The written test consists of 50 questions. To pass, a student must get at least 80% correct. The Written Test can be taken multiple times but at most twice in one day. Typically, students take the Written Test at the Driver License Division the day they register for a learner permit. You can access practice tests here. If you are struggling to pass the Written Exam please contact Justin Meyer and we'll see what we can do to help.

Obtain a Learner Permit

Prior to taking a Driver Education Course we ask that students obtain a Learner Permit from the Driver License Division. You will be required to provide your learner permit number when you register for a driver education course. Students are eligible to receive a learner permit when they reach 15 years of age. Learner permits valid for 18 months.

Students with a learner permit MUST have either: (1) a parent/guardian, (2) the adult who assumed financial responsibility when the permit was obtained, or (3) a licensed driving instructor in the front passenger seat of the vehicle at all times. That is the only restriction on a learner permit. This means that the front passenger cannot be any other individual - including siblings or other relatives - and that there must be a front passenger. Students with a learner permit cannot drive by themselves. There are no other passenger restrictions which means friends and family can be passengers in a vehicle driven by someone who holds a learner permit.

Traffic Safety and Trends Exam

The state of Utah requires all new drivers to pass four online tests with 100% accuracy before they can receive their driver license. The tests can be found at dld.utah.gov. Once there, you click on the icon called Tests and then select the Traffic Safety and Trends Exam. The student will be required to create an account through the DLD in order to access those tests. The four tests are 10 questions each, open note, and can be retaken as many times as necessary until they have been passed with 100% accuracy. If you have trouble getting an account set up please contact the Driver License Division.

Parent/Guardian Instruction

Prior to getting a driver license a student must complete at least 40 hours of supervised driving by a parent or guardian. At least 10 of the 40 hours must be at night.

At this time a log of driving times is not required. I believe the DLD simply asks the parent/guardian if the 40 hour minimum has been met. Please do not shirk this responsibility. Students are only with a driving instructor for a few hours. The primary responsibility of teaching new drivers falls squarely on the shoulders of their parents or legal guardians.

The Road Exam

Like the other exams listed above this exam is technically not a part of the Driver Education Course but is the final step in obtaining a driver license. Nebo School District is currently offering two Road Exam attempts per student free of charge as a courtesy to both the student and the Driver License Division.

Upon completion of the Range/Road driving a student will be eligible to take the Road Exam. The exam will be administered by an instructor who was not involved in the students range/road instruction. Students who do not pass the Road Exam can schedule with their exam instructor to retake the exam once free of charge. If an additional attempt is necessary they will be required to re-take the exam at the Driver License Division office. You will need to call ahead to make an appointment.

We will scheduled 2-3 students to take the Road Exam together and it typically takes about an hour to test all three students.

The following are some of the items tested as part of the Road Exam:

• Maneuvers

  • Backing-up in a straight line (approx. 100 feet)

  • Parallel parking

  • U-Turn

  • Three point turn

  • Parking on a hill

  • Left and right turns

  • Lane changes

  • Progression through stop signs and stop lights

• Observational actions:

  • Acceleration and braking

  • Attitude and alertness

  • Coordination and posture

  • Following Distance

  • Lane position

  • Signaling and steering