DRIVER EDUCATION
CAR LOAN PROGRAM
The
involvement of the nation’s automobile dealers in the driver education program
of our schools traces back to 1933, having started in Pennsylvania. Thousands of dealers and millions of dollars
have been involved with this endeavor in the nearly half-century which has
passed. In the majority of instances
this has been a most worthwhile and compatible relationship.
However, in recent years changes
have taken place. The nation’s economy
has caused concern for both the business community and the public schools. Both educational philosophy and the public
mores have undergone modification during this time. For many and sometimes complex reasons, the relationship between
the schools and the dealers have undergone change. In spite of this fact, we find that the schools and the
automobile dealers still believe in driver education as a viable element of our
society, and both wish to see it continue.
With this in mind, and recognizing
the inherent problems existing in the car-loan program, the Michigan Automobile
Dealers Association and the Michigan Driver and Traffic Safety Education
Association have embarked upon a joint effort to assist both the dealers and
the schools in resolving some of the more critical aspects of car-loan
procedures. This publication, with its
recommendations, is a first step in this effort. Additional information may be obtained by contacting: MADA, 1550 Kendale Boulevard, East Lansing,
Michigan 48823, 517/351-7800, Mr. Gilbert L Haley, Executive Vice-President or
the MDTSEA, Room 70 Kellogg Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing,
Michigan 48824, 517/353-1790, Dr. Donald L. Smith, Committee Chairman.
Eligible
Vehicle: A current model year vehicle which meets all
three of these criteria:
1.
Is owned by the dealership business entity.
2.
A model which has been designated as eligible for the driver education
program by the participating corporation.
3.
Was new and unused at the time it was placed into such driver education
service.
New
and Unused Vehicle: The phrase is meant to be
interpreted literally and exactly – brand new and never before used for any
purpose.
High
School: Includes any State approved public, private,
technical or parochial institution offering a high school diploma.
College
or University: Any State approved
educational institution offering credits, certificates or degrees to students
for successfully completing a course qualifying them as drivers or driver
education instructors.
Driver
Education New Vehicle Reported Delivery: On the date that the qualifying institution takes physical
possession of the vehicle, it should be reported to the manufacturer as a new
vehicle delivery utilizing the required new vehicle delivery card and any other
documents required by the company.
Use
of Vehicles: Limited exclusively for
in-the-vehicle student driver education instructional purposes by a qualifying
institution.
Model
Year: Starts at 12:01 A.M. on the public announcement
day selected by the manufacturer and ends as of 12:00 midnight on the day
preceding the next public announcement.
Dual
Control Car: Designates a passenger motor
vehicle with a duplicate brake or brake and clutch, on the right front
floorboard of the vehicle.
Safety
Restraining Devices: Devices, such as belts and
harnesses, designed to prevent injury to a passenger or driver of a vehicle as
a result of sudden stops.
School
Year: A 12-month period usually starting in
September of each calendar year.
Course: The entire time period of the in-the-vehicle student training
necessary to meet State certification requirements.
Teaching
Staff: A regular member of the institution’s
faculty. This does not include
commercial/private driving instructors under contract to a qualified
institution.
This program is voluntary on
the part of the dealer. Dealers own
the cars and it is their sole decision as to whether or not they wish to loan
vehicles. Those people in the school
systems responsible for obtaining driver education vehicles should personally
contact the dealer of their choice well in advance of their needs (i.e.,
go see the dealer at this place of business).
If a large number of cars are needed, it is best to work with two or
more dealers and to spread the loan around, especially in these days of high
interest rates and the excessive cost of doing business. In fact, the driver education instructors or
supervisors would be well advised to attempt to program their vehicle needs
with dealers one school year in advance.
A good working relationship can be developed on this basis.
It is the responsibility of the
school to arrange to equip the vehicles with dual controls. This is not the dealers’
responsibility. The school should
provide the dual control hardware and they can install and remove it
themselves, or pay to have it done by the dealer or at any other facility they
so desire.
Loan vehicles should be used exclusively
for in-car training. NO OTHER USAGE
IS PERMITTED. A joint inspection of
the vehicles involved should be made by the dealer and a school representative
at the time of the loan and again at the time the vehicle is turned in.
Due to the inflationary aspect, the
high cost of doing business, and the generally low profits in the automobile
business, dealers are becoming disenchanted regarding the loan of
vehicles. Inventories are being trimmed
to avoid interest charges. People in
the field of driver education are going to find it more and more difficult to
obtain loan cars. They are going to
have to become “goodwill” ambassadors and they are really going to have to
hustle for their needs. They are going
to have to do a good selling job with the dealers in order to obtain the cars;
they’re going to have to take better care of the vehicles; and they are
going to have to quit using the vehicles for things other than in-car training.
The schools should have a plan to
give recognition to the dealership on an annual basis and write up news
releases regarding the loan program.
Whenever possible, the dealers and their loan program should be
mentioned in the school community.
Under this program, dealers usually
loan a maximum of three eligible vehicles, or three sets of eligible vehicles
during a school year to a qualified institution in accordance with the
following:
One Driver Education Course = One Eligible Vehicle or One
per School Year Set
of Eligible Vehicles
Two Driver Education Courses= Two Eligible Vehicles or Two
per School Year Sets
of Eligible Vehicles
Three or More Driver Education= Maximum of Three Eligible Vehicles
Courses per School Year of Three Sets of
Eligible Vehicles
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
For Dealers:
To
receive allowances, the following requirements should be met:
For Program
Administrators:
The person in charge of driver education should make every
effort to know what is going on throughout the state as to dealer-school
relationships and be ready to discuss this with dealers individually and
collectively.
At a school-dealer meeting the dealer will be concerned mostly
about economics. The more the person in
charge can show how the school cuts costs or, in the discussion, ask for
suggestions, the more the dealer feels helpful. It is necessary to point out that the state reimbursement is only
$5.00 up from 1955. The school has
problems also.
Each school should designate a person to be in charge of driver
education cars. This person should be
present when all cars are picked up and returned. He must work with the proper persons at the dealership and
determine all damage and repairs. This
person must be available to handle all the paper signing, insurance and payment
of necessary charges without delay.
This person will also be responsible if the cars are misused or used for
any other purpose than driver education.
To be eligible for the loan of vehicles from dealers under this
program, a qualified institution must:
·
Conduct a student driver education course which meets all the
prescribed requirements to teach driver education of the State Department of
Education or other regulatory system.
·
Equip vehicles with dual controls as required by the State Department
of Education. The acquisition of and
payment for installation and removal of dual controls is the responsibility of
the school – not the dealer. The school
is obligated to provide an approved dual control for every car that will be
used on the street in every driver education program. (It is recommended that all cars have a dual control so the same
cars will not always be used at slow speeds on the range). An agreement between the dealer and school
must be reached regarding the installation of the dual control.
·
Execute jointly with the dealer the Notification of Participation form
sufficiently in advance of the requirement date as to allow adequate time for
company processing and approval. After
vehicles have been returned to the dealership, jointly execute with the dealer
the Application for Allowance form.
·
Joint inspection of vehicles:
When each vehicle is placed in driver education service and turned over
to the institution, and again when the vehicles is returned to the dealership
by the institution, a joint inspection by designated representatives of both
the institution and dealership is recommended.
Vehicle mechanical and appearance condition should be noted and signed
for by each party on a mutually agreed upon form. This document may then become the basis for institution payment
for such dealership services, at no more than its normal customer rates, which
were thereby agreed as being necessary to restore the vehicle to salable
condition except for normal “wear and tear”.
·
Extended warranty: This may
vary from one manufacturer to another.
Dealers may obtain a warranty extension for driver education vehicles
which are recorded with their company at the time they are placed in service
and which are subsequently sold at retail.
The new vehicle warranty on eligible vehicles may be extended a maximum
of 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever first occurs, from the date and
accumulated mileage on the vehicle at time of first retail sale. The extension will not, in any event, exceed
a total of 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever first occurs, from the date the
vehicle was originally placed in service as a driver education vehicle.
·
Use vehicle exclusively for supervised in-the-vehicle student driver
education training. Vehicles, while in
the possession of the institution, are intended to be used only by the students
and instructor in training situations.
No exceptions are permitted including use of vehicle by the driver
education instructor to attend allied meetings or for personal trips of his
own. (This includes principals,
superintendents, program administrators, athletic department personnel, etc.)
·
Vehicles loaned to institutions by dealers are not to be used by
commercial/private driving schools under contract or other such arrangement to
an otherwise qualified institution.
·
Cars used for driver education on the public streets and highways shall
carry identification placed on the vehicle of a size and design prescribed by
the Department of Education.
In compliance with this rule, the following are
the specifications for such vehicle identification:
It is recommended the
identification be of car-top design.
The background color of the identification sign shall be National School
Bus Chrome Yellow as specified by the National Bureau of Standards, January 1,
1957. The words STUDENT DRIVER shall be
of block style letters and shall be black in color. The letters shall be a minimum heights of 3 ½ inches. The name of the school district shall also
be identified utilizing block style letters, black in color and of a minimum
height of 1 ½ inches and include a courtesy line for the dealer providing the
car.
The
structure, design and equipment of practice driving vehicles should meet the
existing minimum standards promulgated by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. As a general
recommendation, the majority of cars used in a school should be four-door
vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions. Required special equipment should be dual controlled brakes and
dual controlled clutch pedals for manual shift transmission cars (when used
on-street), an outside mirror on each side, an instructor’s inside rear-view
mirror for on-street vehicles, a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, warning
flares or reflectors, and window cleaners.
Maintenance
and repair practices should be in conformance with manufacturer’s
recommendations and with the policy established by the school district.
The
school should provide a regularly scheduled program of maintenance in agreement
with the dealer as well as keeping the cards as clean as possible while in use
by the school system. The dealer and
school should agree as to maximum number of miles before car is returned to
dealer.
Each
practice driving vehicle (including motorcycles) should be covered by an amount
of insurance that meets or exceeds minimum requirements of local and state
financial responsibility statues.
As a
routine but important procedure, parents of students enrolled in driver
education should be informed of school-provided coverage and should be reminded
that they should be sure that their children are covered under the family car
policy. Parents who do not own or
operate a vehicle covered by insurance may wish to obtain bodily injury and
property damage insurance so that adequate financial protection is afforded for
students for driver education.
Special
care should be taken to assure that the school and all persons or groups who
could be held liable are covered by the school insurance policies. Such individuals and groups may include
driver education teachers, the owner or owners of the practice vehicles, the
school board, the administrative staff, and the student drivers. Because negligence definitions and
interpretations vary in different localities, school administrators should seek
legal advice prior to contracting for liability protection.
To
protect against possible negligence suits, district policies and regulations
should insure that:
·
Regularly certificated teachers directly supervise student learning
experiences in properly designed, maintained, and equipped practice driving
cars.
·
Practice driving vehicles are used exclusively for instruction of
students.
·
Teachers are cognizant of the current school health record of each
student with appropriate attention to any needed compensating or corrective
devices.
·
Collision reporting procedures are followed which may require immediate
reporting of incidents to the administrative office and to appropriate
governmental agencies.
·
A maintenance record is kept of all equipment repairs, including
requests by teachers for repairs, upkeep, or additional equipment and the
action taken.
Recent
surveys conducted by the MDTSEA and the MADA found the following concerns to be
the most prevalent among the schools and dealers responding. The percentages indicate the frequency the
concern was noted.
·
Difficulty obtaining cars at beginning of school year – 24.2%.
·
Trend to compact and small cars.
·
Program not self-supporting; reimbursement too small.
·
Must rent cars while awaiting loan cars.
·
Difficulty installing dual brakes in compacts.
·
Difficulty getting cars in September.
·
Dealers dropping out of program.
·
Excessive dealer charges.
·
Use of cars for activities other than driver education – 51%.
·
Exterior damage – 18%.
·
Interior damage – 9%.
·
Excessive mileage – 7%.
·
Cars not kept clean – 3%.
·
Cars not serviced on schedule by the schools – 29%.
·
Difficulty receiving reimbursement from manufacturer – 28%.
·
Reimbursement not covering expenses – 60%.
·
Reimbursement should be increased.
·
Schools take this service for granted.
·
Experiencing titling problems.
·
Schools ignore (do not favor) our bids when buying vehicles.
·
Program is deteriorating due to poorly screened and trained teachers
today.
·
Discontinuing due to rough usage and insufficient reimbursement.
The
following comments were added:
·
Due to program, sales have been made to school personnel, parents, and
former students – 35%.
·
Any dealer who is not participating should be; in favor of the program
and will continue with it.
______________________________ ______________________________
Dealership School
District
______________________________ ______________________________
Address Address
______________________________ ______________________________
City State Zip City State Zip
Dealer
Agrees: A. School District Certifies:
1) To provide to the School District 1.
Vehicles will be used exclusively
the exclusive use of motor vehicles
for Driver and Traffic Safety
for Driver and Traffic Safety Education Programs.
Education that meet all current
Federal and State Motor Vehicle 2. The Program is approved by the
Code and Safety Standards. State Department of Education.
3. The Program is conducted by
qualified instructors that meet
all state requirements.
B.
School District Agrees:
1. Provide
necessary “Owner” maintenance
as recommended by the manufacturer.
A. Number of Vehicles Covered By
This Agreement __________ 2. Properly maintain the appearance
of the vehicle.
B. Types of Vehicles Used:
(Models, Makes) 3. Return the vehicle to the Dealer on
expiration of assignment.
C. Period of Use:
4. Be responsible for damage or for
__________ to __________ maintenance beyond that which can
normally be expected for the
period of the Loan.*
5. Provide insurance as required by
state statute.
* See attached definition of normal wear.
I.
Type of Program:
_____ High
School _____ Public
_____ Adult
Education _____ Parochial
_____ Special
Education _____ Commercial
_____ Other
_________________
II. Type of Program: III. Length
of Phases
_____ Two-phase ____(hrs)
Classroom ____(hrs) Range
_____ Three-phase ____(hrs)
On-Street ____(hrs) Simulator
_____ Four-phase
IV.
Approximate number of students enrolled in the program per school year
_____
** ** **
The Agreement shall take effect when signed
by persons authorized by the organizations involved.
______________________________ ______________________________
Dealer School
______________________________ ______________________________
Address Address
______________________________ ______________________________
City State Zip City State Zip
______________________________ ______________________________
Authorized Signature Superintendent
(or designee)
______________________________ ______________________________
Date Date
I. Body/Chassis Components
By road tests and visual inspection. Shocks, springs and frame should not show
any damage or abuse. Steering and
suspension should not show any signs of misalignment or abuse. Vehicle should be inspected for proper
operation of doors, trunk, hood, windows, seats and safety restraint systems.
II.
Brakes, Wheels and Tires
By road test and visual inspection. Brakes should not show unusual wear or
visible signs of abuse. Wheels should
not be bent or damaged. Tires should
not show signs of over/under inflation, gouges, cuts or sidewall (whitewall)
destruction. Vehicle should be equipped
with OEM tires. Wheel covers and trim
rings should show minimal damage.
III.
Engine and Drive Train
Check, inspect and road test that all components
are operating properly. All fluid
levels should be properly maintained.
Check for major fluid leaks resulting from abusive operation or
neglect. No unusual noises or
vibrations should be present. Road test
vehicle to check for proper engine and transmission performance. All instruments and gauges should be working
properly.
IV.
Vehicle Appearance
A.
Exterior:
Visual inspection of
exterior trim, moldings, and paint finish (scratches, dings, nicks, etc., that
resulted from neglect or abuse should be repaired). Normal road hazard damage is within “normal wear and tear” (i.e.,
stone “nicks”, tar, etc.). Vehicle
exterior should be cleaned on a periodic schedule. Any exterior trim or equipment that is missing or damaged should
be replaced.
B.
Interior:
Inspect interior trims
and moldings for excessive dirt, stains, ink marks, cuts, major scratches or
gouges. Components that are OEM on
vehicle should be replaced if they are missing (i.e., knobs, lighter, etc.).
Note: Inspection of vehicle for the above areas
should be made prior to delivery and when vehicle is returned by
both parties involved in agreement.
MDTSEA-MADA EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION
PROCEDURE FOR VEHICLE PROCUREMENT
This procedure is available only when all normal and
usual procurement methods have been exhausted.
The MDTSEA Car-Loan Committee is not a car-loan procurement service, but
rather a “last resort” for programs which face drastic curtailments due to a
shortage of driver education cars.
If any school district and/or its officials of Driver and
Traffic Safety Education programs experience difficulties in the procurement of
vehicles to be used for said programs only, the following procedures may be
followed:
1.
The Driver Education Director of the school will
contact the MDTSEA Car-Loan Procurement Chairman at 517/353-1790.
2.
The chairman will then contact the MDTSEA regional
representative from the MDTSEA Region where car-loan procurement has
experienced difficulty.
3.
Regional representative(s) will then contact the Driver
Education Director in the troubled school district with two basic
questions: Whey are you having
problems? Explain your methods for past
procurement, care, etc. The Regional
representative(s) will then determine if it is a school or a dealership
initiated communication problem. He
then will re-contact the chairman of MDTSEA’s Car-Loan Committee, who in turn
will determine what the next step will be.
4.
If said school district wishes, the MDTSEA regional
representative will go with the Driver Education Director to talk with the
dealer and see if the differences can be mutually worked out through a third
party agreement.
5.
If the problem seems to be strictly
dealership-oriented, the MDTSEA Car-Loan Committee chairman will contact the
MADA’s Committee and its Chairman for assistance in solving the problem from
the MADA’s standpoint.
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