State shelves
instructor program

Demand is low for the program
to train teachers for driver's education

The state is temporarily getting out of the business of training adults to be driver's education instructors because of lack of interest.

"We need about 30 applicants minimum per class. ... Right now, we're getting about under half of that signing up for the class," said Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. "We're subsidizing a lot of costs for the class."

There will be one more Driver Education Instructor Training Course held on Oahu this month for those who are interested in becoming a certified driver education instructor for youth ages 17 and younger.

The course will be held from Aug. 14 to Sept. 12. The first part of the course involves 80 hours of classroom methods, content and principles in teaching driver education. The second part involves 24 hours of on-road instruction.

Cost is $735. The registration deadline is next Friday.

The state will resume sponsoring the course if there is a demand, Ishikawa said, but the next training course is tentatively scheduled to be in 2007.

Courses are normally held twice a year on Oahu and once a year on a neighbor island on a rotating basis. There are an estimated 250 driving instructors statewide.

For more information about the Driver Education Instructor Training Course, go the state Department of Transportation Web site at www.hawaii.gov/dot/publicaffairs/drivered, or call Gerri Kabei at 235-7428.

For more information about the Driver Education Program, call Lianne Yamamoto at 587-6315.