DMV tries program to give permit test in school

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- During his 20 years teaching driver's education at South Aiken High School, Larry Nelson has seen many parents take time off work to drive their excited teen to the Department of Motor Vehicles to take a beginner's permit test.

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It's not uncommon for those teens to fail the first time around.

To help out customers - including those parents - the DMV is beginning a pilot program at South Aiken High that would allow students within six months of their 15th birthday to take the permit test at school, instead of a DMV office, said agency spokeswoman Beth Parks.

"We're taking it to them, instead of them coming to us," Parks said.

If the student passes, he or she will be given a sealed envelope to take to the DMV. The student still must take a parent to present identification and pass the vision test at the agency.

The first tests will be given by local agency administrators at the school. The pilot program will continue until the end of the school year, when DMV officials will review the results, Parks said. The program could be expanded if it is successful.

Florida already has a similar program that allows the test to be given in schools and Mississippi also is beginning a pilot program, Parks said. "We're trying to come up with as many ways as we can to save time for our customers," Parks said. "If you save time, you save money."

Students had to sign up with their driver's ed instructor to take the test. For the first test, students will spend an hour or two with an instructor going over the South Carolina driver's manual. For the second test, students will take the exam without the class, Nelson said.

South Aiken High offers several driver's education courses, making it a natural for the pilot program, Nelson said.

Plus, with the school taking care of the test, parents don't have to take time off for a long trip to the DMV. "We thought it was a real convenience for our community and for the DMV," he said.

Nelson said he would like to see the program expanded so schools can give the driving portion of the test.

The pilot program is one of several reforms taking place at DMV, which came under fire more than a year ago after complaints about long lines and poor service.

Under a law passed in June, the agency created new Saturday office hours at some branches. Drivers also can get tag renewal stickers and registrations from county treasurers' offices or private entities, driver's license expiration dates have been extended to 10 from five years for most people, and the agency can contract with public and private entities to administer driving tests.

Along with the reforms came a structural change when DMV, which had been a division of the Public Safety Department, became a stand-alone agency that answers to the governor's office.

"When you look at where the DMV was last year compared to now - and, more importantly, compared to where we're going - it's the perfect case study for the need for restructuring," said Gov. Mark Sanford's spokesman Will Folks.

--From the Wednesday, January 28, 2004 online edition of the Augusta Chronicle