Behind the Wheel Terms - Virginia

PLEASE READ ALL PARTS OF THIS MESSAGE SO YOU ARE AWARE OF OUR POLICIES -- WE HAVE NO FINE PRINT

This notice applies to the standard Virginia State Driver Education Program or any supplemental in-car training that is purchased from I Drive Smart, Inc.

• The scheduling of behind-the-wheel sessions is a critical part of Driver Training and is closely regulated by the State of Virginia. As a certified Driver Education Company, I Drive Smart is required to adhere to all regulations. The purchase of an I Drive Smart Driver Education Package or the Virginia State-Required BTW (in-Car) Training Package includes fourteen (14) fifty-minute training periods behind-the-wheel with a certified Instructor. A "Behind-the-Wheel Session" is considered two consecutive fifty-minute periods, so the state-mandated training appears as seven (7) sessions lasting 100 minutes total. Each session must be scheduled on separate days and a student may not train behind-the-wheel more than one session per day. This is regulated by the Code of Virginia under Virginia State Law. Please do not schedule two behind-the-wheel sessions in one day. All sessions must be scheduled within two years of the purchase date or they will expire.
• Important: A student driver training with us toward state licensing requirements may start to schedule in-car training through the I Drive Smart on-line system only after a student has completed Unit 1 of the in-class program with I Drive Smart or all in-class training with another certified driver education company or high school program and has submitted and received approval of proof of this completion to the I Drive Smart office. The student must be in possession of a valid Virginia State Learner's Permit or license, with this permit/license image and its details uploaded and approved by I Drive Smart in the User Account, before any in-car training can occur. It is recommended that the mandated behind-the-wheel training sessions be stretched out over a reasonable amount of time and not scheduled at one time.
• During in-car sessions that count toward state licensing requirements (that is, not Supplemental Behind-the-Wheel training, which is conducted one-on-one), students will drive for 50-minutes and observe for 50-minutes according to the State-Mandated Regulations. Therefore, students are required to "buddy-up" with other students to facilitate the scheduling process.
• Under the Code of Virginia, a minimum of two students must be in the car at all times when training toward state licensing requirements. Waivers are permitted under Virginia Law only for the driving portion of the training for special circumstances, namely if the partner fails to show up for the appointment, but qualified observation time MUST be with another student.
• Once the sessions(s) are scheduled, students may change or cancel up to three (3) calendar days before the scheduled session. The three days are worked out to the minute the session starts (that is, 72 hours prior to the session start). For example, a session scheduled on June 25 starting at 10 AM will become a commitment on June 22 at 10 AM. Once the student is inside the three (3) calendar day window (up to the minute) prior to a scheduled drive time, the session cannot be rescheduled or canceled. Please be sure that the selected sessions will be attended by the student driver. Please understand that I Drive Smart has no control over whether a partnering or buddy student shows for a training session. This arrangement is required under Virginia State Law. In the event that one of the scheduled students does not show, the training will hold and the training student will be credited with one-period of qualified driving training time and will have loaded into the User Account a single Observation session that can be scheduled through the student's User Account. Instructors cannot perform as the "driving student" for the observation portion of the training under Virginia State Law. The student who misses an assigned in-car training will be required to purchase an additional Replacement behind-the-wheel in-car session to make up for the one missed. The current replacement cost is $99 but is subject to change.
• Please Note: If the session is outside of the 72-hour commitment window, a client is able to cancel a session directly through his or her account 24 hours per day by clicking the "Unreserve" link and confirming the cancelation. A successful cancelation will be reflected immediately in the user account on the My Account page. If you still see the session showing on the My Account page, this means that the session is still live (not canceled). Our office hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm EST. If you call or email outside of these hours to cancel a session, no action will be taken by us until our office is next open. This means that any effort to cancel a session with support from our office must occur during business hours and outside of the 72-hour window. An email sent to cancel on Friday at 4:35 pm EST will not result in action until Monday at 9:00 am EST. If Monday at 9:00 am EST falls within the 72-hour window, the session cannot be canceled even if the email or call had occurred outside of the 72-hour window.
• Unfortunately sessions that are inside the three-day window cannot be rescheduled or canceled. Therefore, please be very careful when scheduling your drive time. It is best to schedule each training session one session at a time rather than all at once. This will help to avoid missed sessions. Students have up to 24 months from the date of purchase to complete their training. Please see I Drive Smart's Terms page at http://www.idrivesmart.com/terms.cfm.
• All students MUST HAVE IN THEIR POSSESSION A VALID STATE-SPECIFIC LEARNER'S PERMIT OR DRIVER'S LICENSE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO TRAIN. IF THE STUDENT FAILS TO BRING A VALID STATE-SPECIFIC PERMIT OR LICENSE, THE STUDENT WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO TRAIN. ALL STUDENTS MUST BE IN CLOSED TOE SHOES.
• Please meet your I Drive Smart Instructor at the yellow I Drive Smart car at the location you have selected. The Department of Motor Vehicles discourages home pick-ups. It is important that the student be familiar with the location of the training and where the car will meet him or her. See the Directions link next to your selected behind the wheel location. It is the student's responsibility to know where the training will take place. Please be sure to print off your account page each time you train and bring it with you to present to the Instructor. This will avoid confusion and will help to confirm your training time and location.
• The Instructor is available to meet with a parent or guardian before and after each training session to receive input, discuss the performance of the student, and make recommendations. Feel free to discuss with the Instructor the type of training that will take place, any concerns about your new driver, or specific training objectives for your new driver.
• For emergency closings and cancellations students should see the web site {http://www.idrivesmart.com/weatherUpdates.cfm} for additional postings for all inclement-weather notifications. Cancelled sessions will be released by I Drive Smart, Inc. for rescheduling within 24-hours.
• Please understand that exceptions cannot be made to our policies as behind-the-wheel training involves very careful pre-planning.