Organizational Procedures
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Traffic Safety Education Organizational Procedures 1 Organizational Procedures Program Responsibility .............................................................................................. Page 3 Role of the State Department of Education Legal Requirements for Driver Education Minimum Standards for Private High School Driver Education Teachers .................Pages 3-4 Driver and Traffic Safety Education Instructor Qualifications Driver and Traffic Safety Education Course Requirements Simulation Multiple-Vehicle Driving Range Obtaining, Equipping, and Using Vehicles ................................................................... Page 4 Obtaining Vehicles Use and Misuse of Instructional Vehicles Insurance on the Driver Education Vehicles ................................................................ Page 5 Driver Education Certificates for Students and Reduced Insurance Rates .................. Page 5 Table of Contents ....................................................................................................Pages 6-7 2 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Private High School Driver Education Program Role of the State Department of Public Safety The Department of Public Safety is to supervise and direct the performance-based driver and traffic safety education and safety programs in the private high school systems of the state of Alabama. The director is the chief administrator for the Department of Public Safety. It is his duty to administer this plan as the director of the Department of Public Safety. Minimum Standards for Private High School Driver Education Teachers Driver and Traffic Safety Education Instructor Qualifications Each instructor shall have at least a valid Rank II Alabama Professional Educator Certificate, with a traffic safety education (G-3) endorsement, valid for teaching in Alabama high schools. Each school system shall establish policies, which will insure that the instructor has no physical qualities that would endanger students or other highway users. Each instructor shall have a valid Alabama driver’s license. Each instructor must possess a safe driving record free from repeated convictions of major traffic law violations. Qualified teachers who have passed Preliminary Certification in Traffic Safety Education are eligible to teach traffic safety education for a specific period of time until they are either given full certification on traffic safety education or dropped from the Preliminary Certification Program. Instructors that are designated third party testing agents for the Department of Public Safety may administer the driver license test to their students. Driver and Traffic Safety Education Course Requirements Driver and Traffic Safety Education for private high school students is divided into two distinct phases. There should be an absolute minimum of thirty hours of instruction in either the block or regular schedule classes and each student shall be required to successfully complete a performance-based evaluation of basic driving skills in a dual control vehicle. Optional phases of Driver Education are allowed and described in the following information. 3 Legal Requirements for Driver Education Driver Education is an elective course primarily for tenth-grade students. High school students in the private schools of Alabama shall receive one-half unit of credit upon the completion of an approved course in driver education. Students enrolled in the Driver and Traffic Safety Education course without a valid learner license should meet minimum health standards to operate a motor vehicle as outlined on the application for an Alabama driver license. Optional Phases Simulation Simulation is designed to assist the student driver in acquiring the necessary procedural, perceptual, judgmental, and decision-making skills for safe driving. Simulation can enhance the skills taught in the classroom phase of Driver and Traffic Safety Education. All simulators used in these programs are subject to approval by the director of Department of Public Safety. Multi-Vehicle Driving Range The multi-vehicle driving range is an off-street area where several cars are used to provide driving experiences supervised by one or more instructors. Laboratory instruction and practice is thus provided. Notification of use of a multi-vehicle range should be made to the director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety. Obtaining, Equipping, and Using Vehicles Vehicles It is the responsibility of the school to provide a reliable automobile that is equipped with dual controls. Proper maintenance of the automobile should follow dealership requirements. Use and Misuse of Instructional Vehicles The school system should have a written policy governing the circumstances, times, and persons concerned with the use of vehicles used in the driver education program, and should provide a means for assuring adherence to that policy. School authorities should exercise extreme care to prevent such vehicles from being used in unusual places, at unusual times and by unauthorized person. The safest plan is to confine the use of the vehicles to the driver education teacher. Any other use of these vehicles would be considered misuse. 4 Insurance on the Driver Education Vehicles Adequate vehicle insurance coverage should be provided for the protection of the school, the teacher, and the students who use the vehicle. If the vehicle is borrowed or rented from a new or used vehicle dealer, coverage should be provided for the protection of that dealer. In most instances it is the obligation of the school to provide adequate insurance. If the school owns or uses more than one driver education vehicle, it is suggested that the school check the possibility of reduced rates through a LEA fleet policy. Minimum coverage should include the following: $100,000.00 - $300,000.00 public liability $50,000.00 property damage $100.00 deductible collision and complete comprehensive insurance (fire, theft, glass breaking, etc.) $5,000.00 medical Driver Education Certificates For Students and Reduced Insurance Rates Most insurance companies that write vehicle insurance in Alabama recognize the fact that a student has successfully completed an approved Alabama Driver and Traffic Safety Education course. Insurance companies recognize the importance of driver education and reward those students who complete the training with reduced insurance rates. Schools may wish to develop a certificate to issue to students who have met the requirements of their driver education program. Most major insurance companies will supply a form to be filled out by either the schools office or by the certified driver education teacher to aid in the process of receiving the driver education discount. 5 Table Of Contents Unit A: Highway License Requirements 1-1 Learner License .................................................... page 9 1-2 Driver License ......................................................... page 11 1-3 Applicable Fees ...................................................... page 12 1-4 License Renewal .................................................... page 13 1-5 Suspension/Revocation/Cancellation ..................... page 13 Unit B: Traffic Laws 2-1 Speed Regulation ................................................... page 17 2-2 Stopping ................................................................. page 18 2-3 Right-of-Way ........................................................... page 20 2-4 Passing ................................................................... page 21 2-5 Traffic Controls ....................................................... page 23 2-6 Occupant Restraint Systems .................................. page 29 Unit C: Responsible Ownership 3-1 Vehicle Registration ............................................... page 32 3-2 Insurance ................................................................ page 33 3-3 Fuel Economy ........................................................ page 36 3-4 Auto Maintenance .................................................. page 38 3-5 Vehicle Accident Reporting ................................... page 40 Unit D: Driving Procedures and Maneuvers 4-1 Pre-Start Checks ........................................................... page 43 4-2 Basic Maneuvers ........................................................... page 44 4-3 Defensive Driving .......................................................... page 52 Unit E: Factors Related To Youthful Driving 5-1 Inexperience ......................................................... page 57 5-2 Peer Influence ....................................................... page 58 5-3 Speeding ............................................................... page 58 5-4 Distractions ........................................................... page 59 6 Unit F: Physical and Mental Impairments 6-1 Alcohol and Other Drugs ....................................... page 62 6-2 Alabama’s Driving-Under-the-Influence (DUI) law page 68 6-3 Short-term Impairments ........................................ page 70 Unit G: Other Highway Users 7-1 Pedestrians, Motorcyclists, and Bicyclists ..................... page 76 7-2 Commercial Vehicles .................................................... page 78 7-3 School Buses ........................................................ page 79 Unit H: Different Environments and Conditions 8-1 Rural Driving ......................................................... page 82 8-2 Urban Driving .......................................................