Florida Teens Can No Longer Take Driver Permit’s Test Online

According to a report by Florida TV station WCTV, the state is canceling the test because it is unreliable. Since 2004, the state allowed people to take the test online for the permit needed before getting a drivers license. The online test cost $20-$30, and made the state between $1.9 million and $2.9 million in revenue.

As one Florida resident commented, the streets will be safer if teens actually have to show up in person for their test instead of taking it online. According to WCTV, in 2009, the Department of Motor Vehicles office retested about 600 people who took the test online, and almost sixty percent of them failed.

As of Jan. 2, though, the Florida DMV website was still offering prominently the option for taking the learner’s permit test online. In smaller print below those postings was the announcement that the test would no longer be available online. However, young Florida drivers will still be able to take their DATA (drug, alcohol, traffic awareness) test online as a precursor to getting their learner’s permit. According to the website, www.highschooldriver.com, students will once again be forced to wait “for hours” at the DMV.

The learner's permit test will be available at a county tax collector or the DMV office free of charge. Teen drivers across the border in Georgia will still be able to take their learner’s permit test online.