Prius For a Driving School Car?

Don't think anyone's mentioned the reversing camera either. Not sure about the USA but in the uk you have to do maneuvers like parallel parking and 3 point turns on driving tests. Using the reversing camera/auto parking would be cheating

 

There's a local driving school here that uses a Prius which I can't figure out. You can't take a driver's test in a Prius for a number of reasons, and teaching to drive in a car other than what they'll take the test in doesn't make sense.

 

Wait, what? What number of reasons would prevent you from taking a driver's test in a Prius?

Let's assume for a moment that if I were to move to your state. Further assume (for sake of this discussion) that taking up residence would require retaking the road test. And I own a Prius. What would an owner be expected to do, rent a car?

Maybe I'm naive, but I don't see how the Prius is all that different from straight ICE counterpart. There's plenty of other cars out there with CVTs that aren't hybrids that exhibit the same driving characteristics.

Hell, *I* had to take my driver's test in an 88 Dodge Caravan. And I handily failed the 3 point turn the first time around. The exam center had two jersey barriers for this purpose, and that van was a heck of a squeeze. This was also before PA axed the on road portion of the exam.

As to the second sentence. I actually had private lessons similar to what the OP is giving (to reduce my insurance rates) through an instructor hosted at my local highschool. It was in a 90's something cavalier. You really cannot get much different than a van over a sedan. I don't think it's a realistic expectation to assume that the vehicle you receive driver's training in will be the vehicle you take the exam in. That's why you have parents that should log 30-60 hours of driving with you instead .

 

My wife took the New York State driving test in our 2005 Prius. The examiner was much more interested in the car than in her driving. She passed.

 

Folks, I have seen several comments now of "don't use a Prius to teach driving."

First, I believe that our original poster and soon-to-be Prius owner is in fact the expert in making the determination of what vehicle is appropriate or inappropriate for teaching driving skills. I think hep's biggest challenge will be mounting the brake pedal.

Second, I have talked to numerous people who either have or are planning to have their teenagers drive a hand-me-down Prius as their first car. Almost all of them mention that their kids drive slower and more cautiously -- no jackrabbit starts or tailgating -- because it is more fun for them to do a mild hypermiling driving style in order to have high MPG.

Third, the Prius is a very safe car in the case of an accident. By contrast, I would not trust my life to a student driving a Cavalier.

 

I've taught very few people how to drive, but this sounds odd to me. Can you educate me as to why the student doesn't need a steering wheel?

As for the modifications, which was your question (we tend to get lost in the tangents rather easily around here), I'd suggest asking AutoBeYours. They're in the business of repairing crash-damaged Prius, and seem intimately familiar with all aspects, inside and out.

 

Because the OP will be a passenger . The extra brake is in case of "oh sh$t" moments.

 

It's NOT a big deal.

The reason I mention CVT transmission, is more that it's just a "difference" between Prius and the majority of regular standard ICE vehicles on the road. The only major difference in comparison to the majority would be the absence of the "shift bumps" that happen with a standard automatic transmission. Admittedly? Not a big deal.

Again, we are talking about new drivers. I know this website is the "Home Base" for Prius love....and that's okay. But I'm thinking if you are dealing with teaching new drivers, there would be advantage in using a vehicle that is more likely to be like the majority of vehicles on the road. Again, as I originally posted, I think Prius is viable as a driving school car, but because it does have specific differences that are unique to itself? If I was charged with choosing a vehicle to use as a driving school vehicle it probably wouldn't be a Prius.

That's basically the reason why if we are talking "Driving School"...I wouldn't choose a Prius.

It's not that I don't like Prius, or wouldn't hope that a lot of young, new drivers don't someday consider or own a Prius.

LOL! I learned on a 80's Tercel- stick shift...with a very, very temperamental clutch. I didn't know any better. When later I discovered the ease of other vehicles? I was really put off...

So that history taints my opinion. I believe it's best to use as common and easy to drive a vehicle as possible when first learning.

No knock on Prius, but given the partially obstructed rear view, and other minor differences and issues? I can't honestly apply that definition.

 

Can you show me a driving school that hands out its cars for the drive test?

Can you send the contact info of those parents to my parents? Seems they missed the parenting requirement of handing over a several thousand dollar item to me.

 

1. The backup camera. I guess you could put a piece of cardboard over it or something, but somehow I don't think the DMV would approve.

But the biggest reason (at least in Massachusetts; your state laws may vary)

2. The person giving the test has no immediate access to brakes. This is why someone I knew who recently got her license couldn't use a Prius to take her driver's test.

 

1. Just hit the display button to turn it off
2. Wouldn't that preclude just about every car with bucket seats and a large center console?

 

Someone I knew couldn't use the family Prius to take her test (see the above post), so the driving school let her use their car (with the instructor in the backseat) to take her test (she passed, btw).

 

1. I can see you've never dealt with a bureaucrat before.

2. Yes it would. It's not because it's a hybrid that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts won't allow it to be used for a test; it's that it has no center emergency brake. A lot of cars fall into that category.

 

1. I can see your beaurcrats are much stupider than they are here.
2. I'm guessing that if this was an issue in PA, hep wouldn't have even considered the Prius. And since students have to do 40+ hours of driving before taking the test, and given that driving school is definitely less than 40 hours of drive time, I don't see why it's even an issue. The students are going to have to practice on another car besides the driving instructor's, so the student can worry about what's legal and illegal in your state fully of silly laws and clueless bureaucrats.

FWIW, my driving instructor claimed he had only used the brake once in his 25 years of teaching.

 

Ah. Yes, that makes perfect sense now.

My Mom's old Honda Civic had one of those 'extra brakes' on the passenger side. I discovered I could stick my foot far enough up the firewall to reach the mechanical linkage for the brakes. It was very difficult to keep a straight face while poor Mom got frustrated with not being able to pull away from a stop sign.

 

HTMLspinner along with a few others who agreed with me nailed it. The rest are just dumb comments.

 

I feel fortunate to not live within your municipality.