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Students who successfully complete an ODOT-certified driver's education course no longer have to take the DMV's road test.

(Thomas Boyd / The Oregonian)

This post has been updated*.

Remember feeling nervous before the road test required for your driver’s license?

Well, thanks to a rule that took effect Jan. 1, teens who complete an Oregon Department of Transportation-certified driver's education course won't have to take it, according to Rich Hanson, a driving instructor and former teacher at Tigard High School.

The state-approved driver's education courses consist of six hours of driving, six hours of observing another student drive, 30 hours of classroom work and a final assessment, Hanson said, and if students complete all that successfully, they won’t have to take the road test when they go to the DMV to get their licenses. They’ll still have to take the written exam, however, and show that they’ve practiced for at least 50 hours with an adult.

"It's actually a pretty slick deal," said Hanson, who retired from Tigard High School in 2010 after 30 years teaching math and science but still teaches driver's education in the district. In 2006, Hanson was named the National Driver Education Teacher of the Year.

Hanson said the final assessments in the driver's education courses require the students to show that they’ve mastered a broad range of driving skills.

“Instead of having a 15-minute drive test at the DMV, we just simply have a culminating evaluation of all the skills that the kid has done. … It’s not a drive test,” Hanson said. “It’s just basically an assessment of their skills and an opportunity to coach and correct.”

Bill Warner, manager of ODOT's driver's education program, said the assessment allows the instructor to judge the students' driving abilities more comprehensively than the traditional road test.

“DMV's ability to push this program through depends on the fact that driver educators are, in fact, delivering a final drive test in lieu of a DMV field office test,” Warner said.

Registration is still open for the Tigard-Tualatin School District's driver's education program, which is open to people inside and outside of the district. The cost is $300, with discounts available for students on free or reduced lunch. For more information, call Ron Dyer at (503) 431-5736.

*This post has been updated to include additional information from Bill Warner of ODOT.

-- Luke Hammill