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Question:
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What are the
requirements to get a Colorado Driver’s License if under the age of 18?
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Answer:
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In order to get your Colorado Drivers
License, you must be at least 16 years of age, must have held your permit
for at least one full year, and must have 50 hours of driving time
documented by the person who signed the affidavit of liability and
guardianship. Please keep in mind that 10 of those 50 hours must include
nighttime driving.
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Question:
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What are the
requirements to get a Colorado Driver’s License if 18 years of age or
older?
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Answer:
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You must take the written B.O.S.T test
to get your Colorado Learners Permit. After which you must pass a Behind
the Wheel test to get your License.
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Question:
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When can my
student get their Colorado Driving Learner’s Permit and what courses do
they need?
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Answer:
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If you are less than 15 years and 6
months the State of Colorado requires you to:
 Be
at least 14years and 6 months of age or
older on the day he or she begins a Driver Education Course; NOTE:
Your
Student must be at least 15 years of age or older to take a Permit
Test in our classes.
Must
attend and complete a State approved 30-hour Driver Education Course or
complete an approved Home Study Education Correspondence Course.
NOTE:
State Law no longer requires concurrent enrollment
in a minimum of 6-hours of Behind-the-Wheel (BTW) training lessons with a
State-Certified Drivers Education Instructor. However, if your student
acquires a permit after April 23, 2007, they will be required to complete 6
hours of BTW training with a State certified, professional organization if
they are living within a 50 mile radius of a driving school, in
addition to completing 50 hours of behind the wheel practice with their
parent/guardian. To find out if you are in the radius, please contact your
local DMV.
If you are 15 years and 6
months but less than 16 years of age the State of Colorado
requires that you:
Attend
and complete an approved Pre-Qualifying 4-hour Driver Awareness Program;
OR
complete a State approved 30-hour Driver Education Course or complete an
approved Home Study Education Correspondence Course and com
AND, if your
student acquires a permit after April 23, 2007, they will be required to
complete 6 hours of BTW training with a State certified, professional
organization if they are living within a 50 mile radius of a driving
school, in addition to completing 50 hours of behind the wheel practice with
their parent/guardian.
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Question:
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Does my student
have to take a written test to get their Colorado Driver’s License?
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Answer:
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The only written test
that your student takes is the Colorado Driving Learners Permit test. The
test to get your Colorado Drivers License is the Basic Operators Skills
Test (BOST) behind the wheel test or better known as the behind the wheel
License test.
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Question:
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Who is my student allowed to
drive with now that they have their permit? (new)
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Answer:
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Legally, there must be
at least one person who signed the Affidavit of Liability and Guardianship
or Affidavit of Completion in the car while the student is driving. Now as
far as passengers are concerned, that is up to the people who signed the
Affidavit of Completion to decide.
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Question:
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How long must I have my
Instruction Permit before I can take my driving test?
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Answer:
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If you are 18 years of age or older, you
can take the driving test on the same day you get your permit. If you are
under the age of 18, you must have held your permit for one full year, and
have your
50 hours of logged drive time in order to take your driving test for
your license.
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Question:
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Are there any
laws for minors (under 18 years of age) that have just received their
Colorado Driver’s License?
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Answer:
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Yes there are:
You
cannot have any passengers under the age of 21 in the car until you have
had a drivers license for at least 6 months unless accompanied by a parent
or legal guardian. (Excluding siblings or emergency situations)
You
cannot have more than one passenger under the age of 21
until you have had a drivers’ license for at least one year unless
accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. (Excluding siblings or emergency
situations)
All
passengers you drive with must wear safety belts and only
one may ride in the front seat.
You
cannot drive between midnight and 5:00am until you have had your drivers’
license for at least one year unless accompanied by a parent or legal
guardian.
Exceptions to driving between
midnight and 5:00am:
Driving
to school or school-authorized activity and the school does not provide
transportation. For this a signed statement from the school is required.
Driving
to or from work. For this a signed statement from the employer is required.
Any
Medical Emergency.
The
driver is an emancipated minor.
Please see the Colorado Driving Handbook
with regard to all details on laws and driving restrictions.
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Question:
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What does CDI's
Registration/Enrollment Fee; Reactivation Fee; and Upgrade Fee cover?
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Answer:
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The registration or enrollment fee, paid
at the time a student registers for services-either the 30 hours of
classroom or behind the wheel lessons or both-covers the overhead costs associated with processing a
student: cost of materials, document processing, multiple communication
contacts; and qualifies the student for student pricing.
The enrollment fee is not refundable. If
the student or parent changes their mind about registering for services once
they have paid, the enrollment fee will be deducted from the amount paid
and their balance refunded. Again, the reason we charge this fee due to
overhead costs--it takes the time and effort of several employees to
register students for the class and even longer to de-activate them and
process the refund.
The reactivation fee, paid if the
students services have expired, covers the overhead associated with
renewing the account; the account must be reactivated, information updated,
new contracts must be processed, etc.
The upgrade fee, paid if the student’s
services have expired, is the difference in cost between the price of the
service when they initially purchased the service and the cost to deliver
that service now. For example, if a student bought a lesson one year ago,
at the cost of $95, and the cost of a lesson today is $120, the student
upgrade fee is $25.
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Question:
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I have received
two contracts, what are these for?
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Answer:
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If you are signed up for 30-hours of
classroom and/or behind the wheel lessons with the Colorado Driving
Institute, you are required to deliver one copy to your Instructor on the first
day of class or on your first BTW lesson. Please
keep the second copy to refer to as it has important information about
CDI’s procedures and policies.
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Question:
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What forms of
payment are acceptable?
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Answer:
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We take cash, credit card, money orders
or checks. If you have your credit card available we can process a payment for
you via phone Monday through Friday from 11:00am to 5:00pm during our
normal business hours. Or, you can always register and pay through our
website, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please keep in mind that we
do have a pre-payment policy on all services rendered.
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Question:
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When does my
student get the Certificate of Completion for this course?
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Answer:
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A Certificate of
Completion will be mailed to your address within 7 to 10 business days
after the student FULLY completes all sessions and/or lessons
purchased with the Colorado Driving Institute. We are located directly
across from the Boulder DMV Office. If you come to Boulder, let us know and
we will have your paperwork ready for pickup & you can go across the
hall!
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Question:
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If I lost my permit
test completion statement can Colorado Driving Institute issue me another
one?
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Answer:
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No. Unfortunately all of the completion
statements have a registered control number that we report back to the State.
You would have to take the permit test again with the Department of Motor
Vehicles if you lost your form. This is true for both the written test and
the behind-the-wheel License Test.
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Question:
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Will the
Certificate of Completion help us get a discount on our automobile
insurance?
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Answer:
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A lot of parents ask
this question, but unfortunately this all depends on your insurance
companies various policies and requirements. We recommend that you contact
your local insurance agent to see what their requirements are for a
driver’s education discount.
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Question:
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If I lose my
certificate of completion, can I get a duplicate?
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Answer:
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Yes. However Colorado
Driving Institute only provides the first certificate for free. After that,
there is a duplicate certificate fee of $5.00 per certificate issued.
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Question:
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How far in
advance do I need to cancel my Drive test without penalty?
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Answer:
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You must reschedule with more
than 24 hours advanced notice to avoid any fees.
The fee is $25 if: you cancel or
reschedule your test with less than 24 hours notice, forget to bring your
permit to your test, (if under 18) forget to bring your drive log to the
test, show up more than15 minutes late, don’t show for your test, or wear inappropriate
footwear to the test i.e., athletic shoes, etc
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Question:
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Where do I get
the Colorado Driving Handbook to study for the permit test?
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Answer:
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You can obtain the Colorado Driving
Handbook at your local DMV or on their website at http://www.revenue.state.co.us/mv_dir/home.asp.
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Question:
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What does my
child need to bring to their classroom sessions?
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Answer:
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They need to bring a pen
or pencil, a notebook or paper and a copy of their birth certificate. The
birth certificate does not need to be a legal copy. A photocopy will be
collected for our records and is needed for proof of age in order to
administer the permit test to the student. The lunch break is 30 minutes.
We suggest that students bring a lunch. However, lunch can be purchased
locally.
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Question:
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If I lost my
driving test completion statement can Colorado Driving Institute issue me
another one?
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Answer:
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No. Unfortunately all of the completion statements
have a registered control number that we report back to the State. If you
lose the driving completion statement you can take the test with us again
for a fee or take the test at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
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Question:
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I just received
my Driver Awareness Program (DAP) certificate of completion. How long do I
have before this form expires?
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Answer:
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The Driver Awareness
Program certificate of completion expires 60 days from the date of issue.
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Question:
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If I lost my Driver
Awareness Program (DAP) certificate of completion, can Colorado Driving
Institute issue me another one?
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Answer:
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No. Unfortunately all of
the certificates have a registered control number that we report back to the
State. The State now requires that the student must attend another DAP
session to get another Certificate of Completion.
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Question:
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The Home Study
course is advertised as self-paced, but does my teen have to complete the
course in a specified time frame?
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Answer:
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The Home Study course is
self-paced but does need to be returned to the Colorado Driving Institute
within Nine (9) months of registration. With recent
changes in state law, you must complete the written portion of
the Home Study Course before you can apply for Minor Permit;
CDI is required by State law to certify the successful completion of the
course.
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Question:
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What if I can’t
find or don’t return some of the contents of the Materials Box for my Home
Study?
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Answer:
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Each piece of material
that we send out in your Materials Box has an individual price. If you cant
find or don’t return some of those materials, the price will be invoiced to
you with our current prices.
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Question:
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Does the
behind-the-wheel training provided by CDI count as part of my teen's
drive-log experience?
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Answer:
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YES! The state has
recently modified their standards, AGAIN! The hours provided by an approved
instructor and the parents/legal guardians who have signed the "Affidavit
of Liability" will be counted as part of the teen's 50hrs of
experience.
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Question:
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How far in
advance do I need to schedule my behind the wheel lesson?
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Answer:
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Typically our drivers
are booked out 4 to 6 weeks in advance, and can be as much as 6 to 8 weeks
during summer months so regardless of when you would like to take a lesson,
please keep this fact in mind. CDI currently serves some 2000 families!
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Question:
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When should we
schedule our behind the wheel lessons?
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Answer:
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We can start scheduling
behind the wheel lessons as soon as the student has their permit. Please
keep in mind that we ask for at least 5-10 hours of practice in between
each lesson. We can however, assist in the basic lesson and have no
experience then. Normally, we book the first lesson (basic lesson) and the
second lesson (city lesson) within 3-4 weeks of each other, with at least
10 hours total time before the City lesson. We ask that the student have around 30-40 hours of experience
before taking the highway lesson for the students’ safety as well as our instructors’
safety due to high speeds and traffic. Remember our lessons are booked out
4-6 weeks during the winter months and 6-8 weeks during the summer months
so please plan ahead; call ahead. And don’t forget, we have a full year for
most of our students.
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Question:
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How far in
advance do I need to cancel my behind the wheel lesson without penalty?
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Answer:
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You must reschedule with
more than 24 hours advanced notice to avoid any fees. The fee
is $50 if: you cancel or reschedule your lesson with less than 24 hours
notice, forget to bring your permit or your license to your lesson, show up
more than15 minutes late to your lesson, don’t show, or wear inappropriate
footwear i.e., flip-flops, you will be assessed a $50 no-show fee that must
be paid before another lesson can be scheduled or receive a certificate of
completion. Please wear closed toed shoes (athletic shoes, for example) to
all lessons.
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Question:
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What does my
child need to bring with them to their Behind the Wheel lesson?
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Answer:
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They MUST bring their
permit or driver's license, and wear closed toed shoes, or we cannot
proceed with the lesson and will have to reschedule for another time and a
$50 no-show fee will be applied to the students account.
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Question:
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We only have
clutch cars in our household. Can my child take their Behind the Wheel
lessons in a clutch car with CDI?
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Answer:
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We do offer clutch
lessons for $152.00. However, they are in addition to the standard three
Behind the Wheel lessons. We teach the Basic, City and Highway lessons in
an automatic so that the student can better focus on driving laws
and getting comfortable with making good driving habits. When the students
have achieved a certain level of understanding, CDI instructors will then
introduce new challenge of working a clutch car.
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Question:
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Can my student
wear sandals on their BTW (Behind the wheel) Lessons?
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Answer:
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NO. Due to the risk of them
coming off during the lesson or getting caught in or on a foot pedal, we
will cancel any Behind the Wheel lesson where the student does not have a
change of shoes and charge a $50 fee. Close toed shoes only please. Also
Appropriate clothing is also a must. Low cut shirts, short shorts, short
skirts are not allowed. We want our students, as well as our instructors,
to feel comfortable during Lessons and tests.
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Question:
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Does CDI offer
the Behind-the-Wheel BOST Test?
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Answer:
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CDI provides this optional
service to our students for a discounted fee of $35--it is optional because
parents and students, with enough forethought and preparation, can schedule
this free test through the DMV.
Parents/Students that take the test through the DMV should consult the DMV
website for vehicle, registration, and insurance requirements. If their
vehicle does not meet the DMV requirements, the student will not be allowed
to take their test and must reschedule with the DMV.
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Question:
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Why does CDI offer
the Behind-the-Wheel BOST
Test?
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Answer:
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The Behind-the-Wheel
BOST test is not the primary focus of the
Institute (classroom instruction and lessons are). We offer the test for
the following reasons:
Parents/Students
do not have a vehicle that:
They
can use for the test
Is
insured
Can
pass DMV inspection
Parents/students
didn’t plan for the test in advance and need to take it at the last minute
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Question:
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Why do
parents/students prefer taking the Behind-the-Wheel BOST Test with CDI?
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Answer:
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It's convenient
Parents/Students are more
comfortable taking the test with a CDI instructor; some have taken lessons
from the instructor that will be providing the test
Another
child/earlier student took their Test with CDI
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Question:
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Is there an
advantage to taking the Behind-the-Wheel test with CDI?
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Answer:
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No. We deliver the same
test and use the same testing materials that the DMV uses on a daily basis.
We cannot and will not do anything to give students an unfair advantage.
A benefit of taking the test with CDI, is that we may provide suggestions
to improve a students safety in driving , and if they fail the test, we can
tell them what areas need improvement, where the DMV is normally a thumbs
up or down.
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Question:
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Why does CDI
charge so much for the Behind-the-Wheel Test?
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Answer:
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CDI provides this
service as a courtesy for our customers; our main business focus is on
drivers education and instruction provided in behind the wheel lessons.
When customers request a BOST test, CDI
has to set aside time from the main functions of the business- delivering
services, administration work, etc. to accommodate that request. CDI
charges a fee for the test because these normal business functions are
postponed and the company incurs a tangible opportunity cost.
The test fee has remained the same for
over seven years.
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Question:
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When can CDI
administer the Behind-the-Wheel Test?
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Answer:
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CDI will administer the test
under the following 3 conditions (all of these conditions must be met):
Student
is 16 years old
Student
has held their permit for one full year from date of issue
Student
has completed 50 hours of drive-time, including 10 hours of night-driving
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Question:
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Will CDI
administer the test during a lesson?
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Answer:
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A test administered
during a lesson will be taken into consideration if the student is eligible
to take the test and if that student does not need to satisfy a certain hour
requirement, i.e. some insurance companies require 6 hours of BTW. If that
student does have a time requirement, CDI must satisfy those requirements
by completing the lesson first and the test can be scheduled for a
different time.
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Question:
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What is a
B.O.S.T. test?
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Answer:
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B.O.S.T. stands for Basic Operating
Skills Test. Actually; there are two kinds of B.O.S.T. tests that you can
take:
· The first is a written B.O.S.T.
test. Once you pass it, it allows you to get a Colorado Learners Permit.
You can take this test through the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) or through the Colorado Driving Institute (CDI). Here at CDI, we give
the written B.O.S.T. test during class, during Session #4.
The
second is a behind-the-wheel B.O.S.T. test. Once you pass it, this test
allows you to get a Colorado Drivers license. You can take this through the
Colorado DMV by appointment or through a third party tester. To take the
test through the DMV, you must provide your own vehicle with proof of
registration and insurance. Or, you can take the test with CDI (a State
certified third party tester) in one of our company cars. The cost of this
test is $40 for non-students or $35 if your are a student that has taken
classes through Colorado Driving Institute. You may schedule an appointment
or call for a walk-in test. Walk-In Tests are available, Monday thru
Friday, 11:00am to 4:30pm at the Boulder office. However, a pre-scheduled
appointment for testing is a better way to go, as many of CDI’s Testing
Providers are likely to already be booked in advance.
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Question:
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Will CDI inform
us about any changes in the law that the State of Colorado puts into
affect?
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Answer:
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Colorado driving laws
change frequently what was once true for parents/guardians may not apply
today. CDI will do their best to try and inform customers but it is still
your responsibility to really make sure you know what new laws have come
into affect. We recommend looking to the DMV’s website for any questions
regarding Colorado driving laws http://www.revenue.state.co.us/mv_dir/home.asp
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Question:
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What does my
student need to take with them to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to
get their Colorado Driver’s License?
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Answer:
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Due to the constantly changing DMV
requirements CDI suggests that you visit the DMV web site in order to
acquire the most current information.
http://www.revenue.state.co.us/mv_dir/home.asp.
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Question:
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I just received
my permit (written) test completion statement. How long do I have before
this form expires?
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Answer:
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There are two (2) DMV tests, one is
written for getting your permit (the completion statement for the written
test expires 30 days from the date of issue) and there is also a
Behind-The-Wheel License Test (the completion statement for the
behind-the-wheel License Test expires 60 days from the date of issue).
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Question:
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My student has
received an Affidavit
of Completion (front)
as well as an Affidavit
of Liability and Guardianship (back) form. What are they for?
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Answer:
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The Affidavit of Completion should
already be filled out (except for parents/step-parents/guardians signatures)
showing that your students name, date of birth, and the Completion date of
the classroom or home study course with Colorado Driving Institute. In
addition, this form will show that the student is or is not signed up for
BTW lessons with CDI. On the Affidavit of Enrollment there will be a
signature from one of the State certified instructors at CDI.
The Affidavit of Liability and
Guardianship requires that you to fill out your students name, date of
birth, but it must only be signed in the presence of a Department
of Motor Vehicle Employee or Notary Public. If it is signed
outside of the presence of one of these required officials the form becomes
null and void. This form must to be handed in to the Department of Motor
Vehicles when you and your student go in to obtain their Colorado Driving
Learners Permit.
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Question:
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How can I find
my local DMV?
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Answer:
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DMV locations are found in the blue
government pages of the phone book OR in the back of your Colorado Driver
Handbook. A list of locations can also be found on the Colorado DMV’s
website at:
http://www.revenue.state.co.us/mv_dir/home.asp.
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Question:
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How can I get a
Spanish version of the Colorado Driving Handbook?
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Answer:
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You can obtain a Spanish version of the
Colorado Driving Handbook at the DMV or on their website at http://www.revenue.state.co.us/mv_dir/home.asp.
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