Thank you for choosing Beltway Driving Academy for your driver education course. Our goal is to teach new students how to become safe responsible drivers. Doing so, the cooperation of students and parents is extremely important during the “Behind-the-Wheel” phase of your Driver Education program. The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration requires that every student under the age of 25 complete a minimum of 60 hours of supervised driving with a parent or a supervising driver who is at least 21 years of age and has held a driver’s license for 3 years.

Beltway Driving Academy will provide 6 hours of In-car Behind-the-Wheel training with a certified driving instructor that is committed to making the driving experience for our students the best it can be. Please read over the following information about our Behind-the-Wheel training sessions. Parents should also review other informational handouts given to the students on the first day of class.

Our Behind-the-Wheel schedule is busier during the spring and summer months. If you plan to participate in the program during the spring or summer months, please allow up to 90 days to complete the Behind-the-Wheel portion of the Driver’s Education Program. Therefore, if you would like to schedule a lesson during the months of June, July or August, please do so at least three (3) weeks in advance of the desired date. To give students time to process and practice the items covered in the previous lessons, only one driving lesson can be schedule per week. The Behind-the-Wheel lessons can be scheduled online, in person or via phone/email.

Students are assessed on their first BTW lesson therefore are encouraged to practice with their driver coach as much as possible (having at least 20 hours with a parent/driver coach) prior to the first lesson and in between the second and third lessons. The first behind the wheel lesson will not be scheduled unless the student has held a learner’s permit for at least 4 months. By the end of the third lesson the student is required to pass the evaluation with an 80% or higher. If the student does not perform at a passing level, they will be required to either schedule additional practice at the current rate or schedule a one hour evaluation lesson at an additional cost of $50 once they have received additional practice from their driver/coach. The completion confirmation will not be sent to the MVA until the student can successfully pass the Behind-the-Wheel portion of the course.

We do not guarantee a student’s completion by a certain date. After the successful completion of the 6 hour Behind-the-Wheel lessons, student information will be electronically submitted to the MVA. The MVA does not accept paper certificates for driving school completion. Student and parents must allow the MVA two business days (48 hours) to receive and process the information electronically sent from the driving school before scheduling the MVA road test.

As a courtesy, students will be picked up and dropped off within a 7 mile radius from the driving school for their in-car driving lessons. If being picked up, please allow a 10 to 15 minute grace period for the instructor to navigate through traffic. The lesson will end 2 hours from the pick-up time. In order to keep the flow of the lessons, the first student’s lesson ends at the second student’s pick up location. The second student then drops off the first student. Outside of the 7 mile radius, the parent or guardian is responsible for transporting the student to and from the driving school.

Students are advised to check their schedule carefully before selecting times for their driving lessons. If a student must cancel a scheduled driving lesson they must do so at least 48 hours before the lesson or a $50 missed appointment charge will be added to their account and future drives will be canceled until all outstanding fees are settled. Missed appointment fee applies to students who arrive more than 30 minutes late for the lesson or are unprepared by not having their learner’s permit with them. Cancellations can be made online, by phone or by email.

Students are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly manner. If a student continually misbehaves or disrupts the in-car driving lessons, the parents will be notified. If the behavior continues, the student will be returned to the pickup location and no refund will be given.

Students are required to dress appropriately for the Behind-the-Wheel In-Car Lessons. Please refrain from wearing revealing clothing (no strapless tops, halters or short skirts/shorts). Shoes should fit securely on the foot (no slides or flip flops).

To ensure there is not a delay in course completion please be sure that your child has made up all missed classroom sessions, passed the final classroom exam and has paid the balance in full.

If you have questions or need more information, please contact our business office. We are happy to answer any questions or concerns.

Thank you.