Officials Say Some Who Repeatedly Fail Exams Are Using Office as Driving School
By Anita Kumar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 28, 2008
RICHMOND -- After four decades on the job, examiner Pat Rollins knows that when an applicant for a Virginia driver's license fails his driving test, he will often come back to the state Department of Motor Vehicles office the next morning to try again. And again.
Tens of thousands of Virginians fail the tests multiple times. One applicant failed the written test 80 times last year. Another failed the behind-the-wheel test 10 times.
In a little-known problem just coming to light, state officials believe the excessive test-takers are trying to get a driver's education class at the state's expense. On Thursday, the Virginia Senate is scheduled to take up a House-passed measure cracking down on the test-takers, who clog the already-long lines at DMV offices.
"They are using the DMV as a de facto driving school," said Del. Timothy D. Hugo (R-Fairfax), who introduced the bill. "They should take a driving school class instead of wasting the DMV's time."
State officials say some adults do not have the necessary training or knowledge to get a driver's license. Instead of taking a class that can cost hundreds of dollars, they keeping coming back to the DMV to use the tests as a cheap way to learn.
"We have to explain to them that we are not there to train them," said Rollins, a DMV driver licensing quality assurance supervisor in Richmond who has been administering tests for 39 years. "You take your life in their hands."
The proposal before the General Assembly would restrict applicants from taking more than three written or behind-the-wheel tests in three months. Those who fail three times would be required to complete a class at a driver training school before taking another test.
The House has unanimously passed the bill. The Senate Transportation Committee is expected to pass the bill Thursday and send it to the full chamber for a vote before the 60-day legislative session ends March 8.
A handful of states, including Massachusetts and Minnesota, limit the number of times a test can be taken before an applicant is required to attend driving school, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Other states, including New York and Kansas, charge higher fees to applicants who fail the test multiple times.
In Maryland, efforts have been made in recent years to increase training for first-time applicants. The efforts far surpass Virginia's requirements, but the state does not limit the number of tests that can be taken. In the District, applicants are restricted to three behind-the-wheel tests in a year.
Karen Chappell, Virginia DMV deputy commissioner of operations, said the proposed change would reduce congestion at DMV offices and boost safety while saving money.
"We've got people basically using the road test to learn how to drive," Chappell said. "It's a complaint we hear from license examiners."
In the 2006-07 fiscal year, 31 DMV employees who administer tests were injured in accidents, reporting $136,000 in workers' compensation claims. The state did not break down how many of those injuries involved frequent test-takers.
Virginia passed a law last year that requires motorcycle-license applicants who fail the road test twice to complete a safety training course. The latest proposal would expand that idea to applicants seeking licenses to drive cars.
The DMV issued 181,000 learner's permits and 343,000 new driver's licenses last year. Almost 39,000 applicants failed one of the two tests at least once, according to DMV statistics.
Lon Anderson, director of public and government affairs at AAA Mid-Atlantic, whose membership area includes Maryland and Virginia, supports the bill.
"It sounds like a wise administrative move to cut down on costs and deal with some people who clearly have some issues," he said.
More than 33,000 applicants failed the written test once, 2,600 failed it five times, 282 failed it 10 times, 19 failed it 20 times and three failed it 30. About 5,500 applicants failed the behind-the-wheel test once, 68 failed it five times, and one person failed it 10 times.
A vast majority of the people who fail are adults. People younger than 19 have to complete a certain number of hours of in-class and behind-the-wheel training, but older applicants do not.
Keith Vance, owner of Keith's Consolidated Driver Education in Burke, offers a two-hour training course for adults that includes transportation to the DMV so that students can use one of Vance's school cars for the test. But, he says, he receives calls just about every day from people who don't own a car but want to pay him for a ride to the DMV without taking a class. Vance refuses.
"Everyone needs the training," said Vance, an instructor since 1962. "No one needs to take the test four, five and six times."
The school has 28 instructors who taught more than 3,000 adults and teens last year. It is one of almost 50 schools listed on the DMV Web site for classes in Northern Virginia. Prices vary widely at the schools depending on the offered courses, which can cost up to $450. Most cost $50 an hour or $75 for a two-hour class.
Under current law, applicants can take the written and behind-the-wheel tests an unlimited number of times as long they don't try more than once a day. Each test costs $2.
The written test, which consists of identifying 10 road signs and answering 25 questions, must be passed to get a learner's permit. Applicants who miss more than five of the questions fail.
After 30 days, a driver with a learner's permit can take the behind-the-wheel test, which takes about 20 to 30 minutes and consists of a series of maneuvers.
Sometimes, Rollins says, applicants get so upset that she and other employees have to explain that they cannot answer questions or show them how to do something. Applicants who do not perform a single moving violation pass the test.
"Usually people complain about the DMV," Hugo said. "But in this case, people are abusing the DMV."
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