Supervised practice and driver education in Vermont

By the end of this topic you can

• You can describe what a Vermont driver education course includes.
• You can explain the 40-hour practice rule and what counts as night driving.
• You can name who is allowed to supervise you.
• You can track your hours using a practice log or app.

What you need to know and understand

• Driver education for 16- and 17-year-olds means 30 hours of classroom study, 6 hours behind the wheel and 6 hours of observation.
• Your instructor must log your course completion with the DMV before you can take a road test.
• You also need 40 hours of practice, at least 10 of them at night.
• The 40 hours are in addition to the 6 behind-the-wheel hours in driver education.
• Night driving means from 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise.
• Supervisors must be licensed and unimpaired, and ride beside the driver.
• A parent or guardian certifies the 40 hours.

Driver education: the 30-6-6 course

Vermont's Agency of Education oversees driver education in high schools, and there are also DMV-licensed commercial driver training schools. Either way, the course must include 30 hours in the classroom, 6 hours driving with the instructor and 6 hours observing another student drive.

Out-of-state driver education counts only if it was taught by a certified or licensed instructor and included both classroom and behind-the-wheel training. Some high schools also have instructors certified to give the road test to their own students.

Who can sit beside you

The supervisor must ride in the front seat. This rule applies to every permit holder, whatever their age.

• A licensed, unimpaired parent or guardian
• A licensed or certified, unimpaired driver education instructor
• Any licensed, unimpaired person aged 25 or older

Building your 40 hours

1. Start in an empty parking lot to practice steering, smooth starts and stops, and turns.
2. Move to quiet roads, then busier streets as control improves. If traffic backs up behind you, pull over safely and let it pass, as the law requires.
3. Add hills, gravel roads, interstate merging and parallel parking.
4. Spread at least 10 hours across darkness, rain and, when you are ready, snow.
5. Record every session with the DMV practice log sheet or the RoadReady app.
6. Have your parent or guardian certify the total when you apply for the Junior license.

Going beyond the minimum

The manual's advice to parents is to give teens even more than 40 hours, and to set family rules about belts, speed, phones, passengers and late-night driving. Our article on Vermont driver's ed and the 40-hour certification explains the paperwork in more detail.

Common mistakes

• Counting instructor lesson time toward the 40 hours. It does not count.
• Doing all night hours on familiar roads in summer. Try different roads and weather.
• Practicing with a 22-year-old sibling as supervisor. Unless they are your guardian or an instructor, they must be at least 25.
• Forgetting to log hours as you go and trying to reconstruct them later.

Test yourself: Supervised practice and driver education in Vermont

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

• Vermont Driver’s Ed and the 40-Hour Practice Certification
• Vermont Permit Practice Test
• Learning to Drive in Vermont