With ballooning costs and waitlists, frustrations over driver's ed access accelerate

When Tracy Jenkins’ son turned 15 last January and she started looking into driver’s education programs, fellow parents told her she was already behind schedule.

By her count, Jenkins called at least eight schools, from Tuftonboro to Concord to Portsmouth and everywhere in between — Jenkins lives in Gilford and her son attends the New Hampton School. Every program had a waitlist, and while she added his name, it was never fruitful.

“No one ever gets pulled off a waitlist,” Jenkins said. “People don’t cancel.”

Jenkins got so frustrated that she seriously looked into getting certified as a driving instructor through the state so that she could teach her son and other local teens struggling to get into a program. But that process involves taking multiple courses through one of two colleges — Keene State and White Mountain Community College. She would then have to join an existing driving school for multiple years before being able to open her own.

This February, more than a year later, Jenkins finally enrolled her son in a course for this summer, in a space that she “tripped over, strictly out of luck.” It was the final seat in the class.

All minors applying for a license in New Hampshire must have completed a certified driver’s education program involving 30 hours of classroom instruction, 10 hours of driving with an instructor and six hours of observing someone else drive with an instructor. These applicants must also complete 40 hours of daytime driving and 10 hours of nighttime driving accompanied by a licensed adult over 25. 

Frustration is mounting among parents and young drivers about a decreasing availability of driver's education near their local communities. Programs have lengthy waitlists, and if a student successfully enrolls they face increasingly steep fees. Instructors point to declining numbers creating an availability bottleneck. Legislators have differing stances on whether improving the current system by adding more instructors, or reimagining it by allowing parents to teach the state's curriculum, is the best solution.

The state Division of Motor Vehicles contracts oversight of driver’s education programs to the State Police under Trooper Richard Dupont, said DMV Director John Marasco in an email to The Daily Sun. Though reached, Dupont was unavailable for an interview. 

According to information provided by the New Hampshire State Police, there were 90 certified drivers education schools in the state in 2010. That number fell to 78 in 2015 and now sits at 70. The data, provided via email, notes that there are currently 106 locations of those 70 schools, but did not include comparable figures for previous years. The average wait time to enroll is currently six months, up from four months in “previous years” according to the email.

Jack Wedemeyer, owner of Jack’s Driving School, was certified as a driving instructor in 1983. He began as a teacher with a friend’s program, then started his own school four years later. At his high point, Wedemeyer estimated he enrolled between 500 and 600 students per year across half a dozen locations in Southeastern New Hampshire. He has been downshifting in the past few years in preparation for his retirement, and currently runs sessions in Alton, Concord and Hooksett.

Wedemeyer said he enjoys his work as an instructor because of the relationships formed with students, and described his approach to teaching as one that emphasizes the human and social factors behind driving safety.

“I think the kids teach me as much as I teach them,” he said. 

While smartphones have increased the challenge, he said, distracted driving in young drivers has always been a central threat to road safety, and he combats this by reminding his students that the car will not prevent them from an accident. 

“It’s a full-time job, driving ... and it’s a social thing. Everyone can do something wrong,” Wedemeyer said. “I always tell this to my students: ‘The machine has no brain. Please use yours.’”

Wedemeyer has noticed decreasing availability of driving instructors — and it does not surprise him. 

“A lot of people are starting to retire and I don’t see many starting who can take over from us,” he said.

The process of becoming a driving instructor in New Hampshire first requires getting a provisional certification by passing three three-credit courses at Keene State College or White Mountain Community College with a grade of at least 75. Those with provisional certificates, while supervised at a driving school, must complete 60 hours of classroom and 240 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction over two years and take six more credits of designated college-level courses in order to apply for a standard certification. 

According to New Hampshire State Police, the price to complete these courses was previously $4,500 and has now dropped to $2,265. The amount of time the process takes to complete varies, “depending on life experience.”

Wedemeyer recounted that getting certified is more involved and more expensive than it was decades ago, and felt this could be turning people away.

“Let me put it this way: If I was to try and start again as a new instructor today,” Wedemeyer said, “I wouldn’t do it.”

Increasing frustrations and demands from parents may also contribute to declining ranks. One instructor declined to be interviewed because they did not want to intensify the frustration they had received from parents.

Some argue the state should do more to help increase the number of instructors and schools available to teens.

Rep. Karel Crawford (R–Moultonborough), in addition to her duties as a sixth-term state representative, started Red Hill Driving School with her husband in 1994. Crawford is currently booking students for courses into next winter, and has a waitlist of about 10 students. 

Crawford said she thinks the state could do more to increase the number of instructors joining the field.

Until recently, Keene State College was the only school offering the courses mandated by the state for instructors. White Mountain Community College is now a second option.

By adding WMCC, Crawford said, “We are currently moving in the right direction of getting more instructors, and I hope it stays that way.”

Other lawmakers believe there are systemic problems with driver’s education access in New Hampshire. 

Sen. Tim Lang (R–Sanbornton) first put forward legislation to allow parents to teach the state’s road safety curriculum to their children in 2018. He put forward similar legislation in the following term and is cosponsoring another bill, HB 55, this session.

Lang described barriers driver’s ed programs pose in addition to long waiting periods. He cites the rising average cost as a primary reason for his proposed legislation. Lang said the average cost of driver’s ed was around $600 when he first filed a version of this legislation in 2018, and it has now ballooned to over $800. 

According to New Hampshire State Police, the average fee is currently $700; averages for previous years could not be provided.

In addition, Lang notes that many parents are unable to get their kids to and from class — especially in the North Country, where there are only a handful of state-certified programs. As students find it harder to get into programs near their hometown, this barrier grows.

Parents, Lang asserted, are equipped to teach their children the state’s driving curriculum, and in fact already do so.

“I was taught mostly by my parents, right? And my kids were taught mostly by me,” Lang said. “We've kind of already proved we can do this.”

Jenkins echoed this reasoning. 

“What don't [parents] have that this certification gives you?” Jenkins said. “We already have to do 40 hours of driving with them. We're driving them anyway.”

But the legislation has met opposition at the state level.

Crawford, who sits on the House Transportation Committee, opposes parent-taught driver’s education legislation, citing the importance of cementing safe driving techniques in young drivers.

“The parents do a decent job, most of them, at getting kids started. But I spend the first good part of every session correcting things students were taught by the parents,” Crawford said. She described the push-pull steering method — which decreases the chance of arm, hand and face injury when an airbag deploys — as an example of a method not usually taught by parents.

Crawford also said legislation was harmful to the driver’s education industry because, even when unsuccessful, it lowers the perceived necessity and value of professional drivers education.

"The Division of Motor Vehicles is committed to working with its partners to lower costs of driver education programs, reduce wait times for students to begin classes and increase the number of driver education schools and instructors in New Hampshire," said DMV Director Marasco in a written statement to the Sun about the DMV's stance on HB 55. "While we have concerns with House Bill 55 as proposed, we will continue to work collaboratively with a variety of stakeholders to improve accessibility and lower costs to young drivers."

There is mixed data on whether driver’s education nationwide demonstrably decreases crash rates for teen drivers, and little research has been conducted as to whether a standardized but parent-taught driver’s education curriculum is less effective.

Lang acknowledged there are safety concerns with first-time drivers, but emphasized that it is the responsibility of driving test examiners to ensure any license applicant is a safe and capable driver — regardless of whether they have received formal driver’s education. 

“The state is the gatekeeper of who keeps unsafe drivers off the road, not driver's education programs,” Lang said. “It's not about who taught it.”

HB 55 was retained in committee, and Lang said he’s hopeful a compromise where the state accepts online driver’s education courses will eventually pass. 

Online courses solve issues of transportation to and from class and carry a much smaller price tag, Lang said, making them a solid compromise. “I think that that's a reasonable baby step to take.”

Editor's note: This story was updated to include a statement from DMV Director John Marasco and information from New Hampshire State Police provided after publication.