Virginia Law

The program in driver education shall ensure that the candidate holds an active license with a teaching endorsement or endorsements issued by the Virginia Board of Education and has demonstrated the following competencies:

1. Basic understanding of the administration of a driver education program as required by § 22.1-205 of the Code of Virginia and the Administrative Guide for Driver Education in Virginia 2010 (http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruc tion/driver_education/curriculum_admin_guide/index.shtml) including:

a. Coordinating and scheduling of classroom and in-car instruction;

b. Understanding the Board of Education's and the Department of Motor Vehicle's regulations governing driver education programs;

c. Managing student safety using route and lesson planning, appropriate training techniques, driving environments, speed, driving experiences, and constant monitoring;

d. Administering the juvenile licensing process;

e. Highway traffic safety and the driver licensing laws in the Code of Virginia;

f. Vehicle procurement, maintenance and safety equipment requirements;

g. The Department of Education's and the Department of Motor Vehicle's juvenile licensing forms;

h. Monitoring and oversight procedures that ensure the approved program meets state curriculum objectives, goals, and learning outcomes; the classroom and in-car hour requirements; and teachers have valid Virginia driver's licenses, acceptable driving records, and meet teacher licensure and in-car instructor training requirements;

i. Promoting parent involvement;

j. Providing opportunities for ongoing professional development; and

k. Integrating classroom and in-car instruction when possible to maximize transfer of skills.

2. Understanding of knowledge, skills, and processes of classroom driver education instruction including:

a. Traffic laws, signs, signals, pavement markings, and right-of-way rules;

b. Licensing procedures and other legal responsibilities associated with the driving privilege and vehicle ownership;

c. Ability to explain the effect of speed and steering on vehicle balance and control;

d. Knowledge of performance characteristics of other highway users and ability to apply problem-solving skills to minimize risks with (pedestrians, animals, motorcycles, bicycles, trucks, buses, trains, trailers, motor homes, ATVs, and other recreational users);

e. Facilitating students' ability to manage time, space, and visibility, using perceptual skills, and a risk management process;

f. Ability to identify and analyze the physiological, psychological, cognitive, and economic consequences associated with alcohol and other drug use;

g. Understanding proper use of vehicle occupant protective devices and analyzing how they can reduce injury severity and increase collision survival;

h. Recognizing how regular preventive maintenance reduces vehicle malfunctions and the warning signs that indicate the need for maintenance, repair, or replacement;

i. Recognizing the consequences of aggressive driving, fatigue, distracted driving, and other physical, social, and psychological influences that affect driver behavior and performance;

j. Understanding of the effects of momentum, gravity, and inertia on vehicle control and balance, and the relationship between kinetic energy and force of impact;

k. Ability to evaluate emergency-response strategies to avoid or reduce the severity of a collision in high-risk driving situations, and how technological advancements in intelligent handling and stability control systems affect driving practices;

l. Knowledge about map-reading and trip planning technologies and evaluating personal transportation needs and their impact on the environment;

m. Ability to differentiate instruction based on a continuous learning cycle;

n. Knowledge of assessments that foster student learning to inform decisions about instruction; and

o. Using new and emerging instructional technology and media effectively to enhance learning.

3. Understanding of knowledge, skills, and processes of the laboratory phase of instruction including:

a. Utilizing simulation and other instructional technologies;

b. Managing a multiple-car range;

c. Designing sequential instructional performances that lead to effective habit formation;

d. Providing clear, concise instructions when describing the critical elements of a driving skill;

e. Correctly using occupant restraints and protective devices;

f. Understanding the role of the driver and the observer;

g. Using commentary driving to determine visual search skills needed to identify and make risk-reducing decisions for safe speed and position;

h. Using reference points to gauge vehicle position and execute maneuvers with precision;

i. Selecting vehicle position to communicate or establish line of sight to targets;

j. Balancing vehicle movement through precise and timely steering, braking, and accelerating to manage vehicle weight transfer;

k. Applying visual search skills to manage risks in low, moderate, and high-risk driving environments;

l. Adjusting speed and space to communicate and reduce risks to avoid conflicts;

m. Preventing, detecting, and managing vehicle traction loss in simulated and adverse driving conditions;

n. Using vehicle braking, traction, and stability technologies;

o. Recognizing environmental factors that influence vehicle control;

p. Applying space management strategies to the front and sides and monitoring space to the rear;

q. Understanding the consequences of speed selection;

r. Dividing mental attention between intended path of travel and other tasks;

s. Demonstrating basic and evasive maneuvers and off-road recovery;

t. Recognizing understeer and oversteer, and the effects of traction, gravity, inertia and momentum on vehicle handling and control;

u. Controlling vehicle from instructor's seat;

v. Interacting with other roadway users in a positive manner;

w. Using manual transmission;

x. Developing precision in the use of skills, processes, and habits for approach to intersection, curves, turns, parking, turnabouts, backing, lane change, passing and being passed, getting on and off highways, and responding to emergencies;

y. Administering the driver's license road skills test and issuing the six-month temporary provisional license; and

z. Completing a debriefing with a parent or guardian that includes a reminder that the parent must ultimately determine readiness for a driver's license.

4. Guiding parents to provide meaningful guided practice including:

a. Understanding the juvenile licensing laws and the parents' role in the juvenile licensing process;

b. Determining the readiness of the child to begin learning how to drive in a car;

c. Planning and supervising the learner's permit experience;

d. Keeping a record of the meaningful supervised driving hours; and

e. Adopting a written agreement with the child that reflects expectations, defines rules and consequences, and allows the parents to progressively grant broader driving privileges.

5. Understanding of and proficiency in grammar, usage, and mechanics and their integration in writing.

6. Understanding of and proficiency in pedagogy to incorporate writing as an instructional and assessment tool for candidates to generate, gather, plan, organize, and present ideas in writing to communicate for a variety of purposes.