KDSN RADIO News
Iowa DOT offers course for young drivers to get suspended license back
The Iowa DOT is using a program called “Alive at 25” to help young drivers who have violated the rules for their restricted licenses.
DOT’s Driver Education Program Manager Vania Boyd says it covers 16-year-old drivers who go into the Remedial Driver Improvement Program. “It’s the way that we provide either sanctions or we add additional restrictions. It’s kind of a way for them to pause and maybe learn from that mistake or have to serve a suspension if they violated one of the rules or a traffic violation on their license,” she says.
Boyd says they looked at what other states are doing for drivers with intermediate licenses. “We wanted to find a way to provide more education to these students, focusing on behavioral decisions. We wanted to avoid sending them through another driver education program,” she says.
Boyd says the Alive at 25 program is hosted by the Iowa-Illinois Safety Council. “It is a four-hour course that focuses on certain behaviors that we do not want to see behind the wheel, such as high speeding, distracted driving, so maybe texting and driving,” Boyd says. “It also talks about peer pressure, so if you have other individuals in the car, maybe that provides additional distractions.”
Boyd says drivers at this level face a 30-day suspension of their license for a violation like a speeding ticket. They can take the course for a chance to get their license back faster. “We receive a certificate of their completion, and we can lift the suspension. However, this is a one-time opportunity only, so students only have one shot at taking the course to lift a suspension,” Boyd explains.
She says it is a different experience from a standard driver’s ed class. “This course encourages the child to have discussions. They are required to be engaged, and there’s group activities,” she says. “So instead of sitting in class and absorbing information, it’s extremely interactive and we’re hoping that will make a difference.”
They started using the course near the end of August, so there’s not a lot of information yet on how it has impacted the behavior of young drivers. Boyd says they have seen about 50 percent of the drivers with suspensions signing up. And with of the around 100 students who had received a suspension and registered for the class, 68 have completed the course to get the suspension lifted.
