Coaching a Missouri Permit Driver Through the 40 Hours

Before you start: what counts toward the 40

Under the GDL law, a permit holder needs 40 hours of driving instruction, and at least 10 must happen after the sun goes down and before it comes up. The state does not say how many sessions or which kinds of road, so how good the practice is depends entirely on your family.

An hour only counts when your teen is at the wheel with an approved supervisor next to them. Your teen sitting in the passenger seat watching someone else drive does not count. Driving done before the permit was issued does not count either, since it was not legal practice.

Before you start: who may supervise

Before 16, the passenger seat belongs to a parent or stepparent, a grandparent, a legal guardian or a qualified driving instructor. Anyone else must be licensed, at least 25, licensed for three years or more, and carrying written permission from the parent, which can be put on the optional Form 5434.

Form 4737 covers a parent, grandparent or guardian whose physical disability keeps them from serving as a qualified licensed operator: it lets them name up to two other licensed drivers who are 21 or older. Once your teen is 16, any licensed driver aged 21 or more can supervise, provided they obey whatever restrictions appear on their own license.

During the permit months: keeping the log

You never hand a log to the state. The Driver Experience Log, Form 4901, is there to help you: it has a column for the date, one each for the start and end of the drive, one for total time and one for the trainer, and the DOR says it can be used to verify the 40 hours.

What the state actually relies on is a person. An adult who supervised (a parent, stepparent, grandparent, legal guardian, or a certified trainer from a federal residential job training program) accompanies your teen to the license office and signs off on the hours when the intermediate license is applied for. A filled-in log is what makes that signature easy to give.

• Write each drive down the same day
• Mark every after-dark drive so you can show the 10 hours at a glance
• Note who supervised, especially an instructor or grandparent
• Hold on to the log until your teen has the full license at 18

During the permit months: paid lessons

Missouri recognizes two kinds of qualified driving instructor. One is a teacher whose certificate from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education carries a driver education endorsement. The other is a driver training instructor on the staff of a private driver education program. Hours with either count toward the 40, and teens enrolled in an approved course can use the $1 student permit.

We found no list of approved private driving schools published by the Department of Revenue. So ask the school directly: does the instructor meet one of the two definitions, does the training car have a brake on the passenger side, and will you get the lesson hours in writing for your log?

Before test day: when lessons become required

Every error on the road test costs points, and a driver who loses more than 30 fails. Certain errors end the test immediately: causing a crash, striking a pedestrian, breaking a traffic law, driving dangerously, or not doing what the examiner says. Only one road test is allowed per day.

On a third failure, the Patrol forwards the results to the Department of Revenue, and the department writes to say more behind the wheel training is required. Your teen cannot test again until proof of that training is sent and approval comes back in writing. Paying for a couple of lessons up front is usually cheaper than that wait.

Before test day: the car

Practice at least some of the time in the car your teen will use for the test. The examiner will check for a valid inspection sticker and current plates, belts that work, doors that open on both sides, an uncluttered passenger seat, a working service brake and parking brake, a horn that sounds, and proof of insurance.

Expect the examiner to ask your teen to operate the turn signals, wipers and other controls on the spot, so make finding them second nature. Nobody else may be in the car, and the examiner will not give tips; the job is to score.

Worked example of a 182 day plan: weeks 1 to 6 in lots and neighborhoods, weeks 7 to 14 on busier streets with some night drives, weeks 15 to 22 on highways and in rain, and the last weeks rehearsing parallel parking, hill parking and backing in the test car.