RECOMMENDATIONS
Thank you for all your work with our daughter. You have given her a good foundation for safe driving.
Vickie and Dan Southworth
I send you my heartfelt thanks for teaching my 16 year old daughter. I made the right decision by enrolling her in your driving school.
Sincerely,
Denise McLeod, Pensacola, FL
Mr.Collins,
Your instructions for our Grandson were far more than we anticipated and certainly well worth the cost. Your professional manner of not only providing him with this information, but also in having him enjoy the lessons, were amazing to us. Sincerely,
Mr. Collins,
My son's driving ability dramatically improved with every lesson. I honestly believe it is the best money I have ever spent. Thank you.
Lucky Wallace, Pensacola Beach, FL
| Dear Joda, You are a great teacher...what you are doing truly save lives. Natasha Morin, Pensacola |
employing defensive driving techniques.
Get a summary of this material by reading the colored print and the first full sentence of each section. Below is a table of Contents for this page. From the content below comes the specific information that is used to construct your personal Working Agreement with the Joda Collins Driving Academy. Not all things will apply to you. We use only those things that apply to your needs to build a personal Working Agreement between us. We avoid misunderstandings by clearly stating what is expected of us and what we can expect from you. From his "meeting of the minds" we enjoy a successful relationship.
Table of Contents
Section 1: Our operating costs
Section 2: Our charges
Section 3: The first lesson always begins in a parking lot
Section 4: Discount for advance payment for six or more lessons
Section 5: Pick up fee discount
Section 6: There is no discount if a client uses his or her own vehicle because…
Section 7: Payment
Section 8: Returned check fee and convenience charge for credit/debit card use.
Section 9: Use of our vehicle policy for State driving test.
Section 10: Door-to-door pick up policy/fees.
Section 11: Do we guarantee graduation?
Section 12: Two complimentary refresher lessons.
Section 13: Our Guarantee
Section 14: Our charge will not increase to any client during the contractual period.
Section 15: Refund Policy.
Section 16: Mutual Termination Policy
Section 17: If your goal is to "just pass the State driving test", it is your responsibility to inform us of that
in advance.
Section 18: Reschedule by 9pm the previous night to avoid charges.
Do we cancel and reschedule for "bad" weather? No.
Section 19: No-show Policy ($50 plus pick up fees); Late policy (loss of time).
Section 20: Liability Waiver
Section 21: Homework
Section 22: Insurance company discounts
Section 23: Financial Agreement for teaching schedule
Section 24: Payment Selection
Section 25: Financial Agreement for credit/debit card
Section 26: Financial Agreement for Door-to-Door Pick Up Service.
Section 27: Policy Agreement
Section 28: Adjustments
Section 29: Contact Information
Section 30: What to know before the first driving session.
It is less important to the Joda Collins Driving Academy that every detail of this Working Agreement remain unchanged and more important that we have a "meeting of the minds" about mutual expectations. It is from a "meeting of the minds" that a good working relationship is created. Therefore, if you, as the Client, see anything in this Working Agreement that you would like to change, just let us know. We will do all within our power to meet any reasonable request. Thank you.
(To get an overview and summary of this page read the blue and red print and the first full sentence of each section that is written in back.)
Section 1: Our operating costs are $87 per 1.5 hour lesson. When you consider our prices, please consider our expenses. Mr. & Mrs. Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx XXXX xxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxx Dear Mr. & Mrs. Xxxxxxx, Thank you for your call. I am sorry that you find the pick up charges unreasonable. I have canceled all of your appointments. One of the most costly expenses we have is the door-to-door pick up because we charge 35 cents per mile below our actual cost to provide the service. Because 100% of our income comes from the use of our vehicle, our costs for taking our vehicle out of commission for income in order to drive it to pick you up makes that service too expensive for us to offer free. However, you can drive to us for much less than we can drive to you because you are driving on your time off from work and not as a part of your livelihood. In addition, you are driving a vehicle that is not “rented out by the minute” as ours is. If you can come to us, our charges to you decrease by $179.00. That is a significant savings. If you came to us, it would also saves us $63.00 as we do not have to invest the Sincerely, Section 6: There is no discount if a Client uses his or her own vehicle
We use some of the most expensive commodities available: fuel, a new vehicle, vehicle maintenance/depreciation, insurance for unlicensed drivers, salary/benefits, commission on sales to associates, advertising and office expense/supplies. We receive no discounts on these expenses. In addition, we pay equipment and phone, federal, state and local taxes and fees, annual association fees, yearly State licensing fees for vehicles and instructors, initial and ongoing costs for Florida DMV/Safety mandated training and travel to the training center in Orlando plus lodging, meals and tuition for that ongoing State mandated Instructor's training. We pay excessive charges to Visa and MasterCard, an annual tax to Milton on personal office equipment and supplies used in business, and more! Every man's brother seems to have his hand in our checking account for some kind of "fee", "charge" or "expense". It takes a great deal of money to run this business. A GREAT DEAL!
Everyone is accustomed to paying $1.75 for 10 cents worth of carbonated water and soda-syrup. We are all accustomed to paying $4.00 for 90 cents worth of hamburger and toppings. We consider it normal to pay $5 for something made of 75 cents worth of plastic.
If you have need for an air conditioning man to come to your home, expect to pay about $1 per minute for his services plus about $75 for his travel fee, even he drives only five miles to your residence. Travel in a taxi cost about $5 for the first mile and $2.50 per mile thereafter plus 30 cents per minute when the vehicle is stationary. My most recent dentist visit cost me $251.00 and I was in the dentist chair less than 25 minutes. My wife recently had to go to the emergency room. A doctor saw her for less than one minute and wrote a prescription for 10 pain pills. The doctor and emergency room bill was $504.00! Grocery costs increase daily. We live in a time when the dollar has the capacity of buying less and less.
We are not exempt the high cost of doing business or the devalued state of the dollar. We get no discounts on anything we purchase or use to provide our service to others. It costs us (on average) $58 per driving hour to provide our service to others, thus, $87 per 1.5-hour driving session. When you consider our charges, please
consider our costs.
Charges are directly related to costs. I began the Joda Collins Driving Academy in late 2007. So far, I have not earned a living at this business. Currently, I have family and friends that assist me in various capacities, but they do it for free. In addition, there are two that promote my business in various ways. They are paid straight commission.
Why don't I make a living at this business? When I first moved to Milton from Tennessee, I discovered there was no private behind the wheel driving school serving Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties except for a driving school based in Tallahassee that was willing to come to the greater Pensacola area for a large travel expense fee and/or if there were more than one lesson to conduct simultaneously. One of the reasons there were no driving schools here is because some of the high schools have behind the wheel driving courses. When one considers that the largest single group of individuals seeking driver's training are first time drivers, it makes sense that the demand for a professional driving school would be low. In addition, many of the parents of Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties were trained by a parent that had little or no idea of what defensive driving is. That lack of knowledge, being passed on to the current generation of parents, said parents have little motivation to enroll their child in any defensive driving session or course. A third reason why there were no driving schools here is that Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties rank in the lower echelon of income per capital (in the State of Florida). Ranking lower in general personal income means that, although many people might want to learn defensive/safe driving techniques, fewer can afford the cost for doing so.
As time goes on, the high school will be faced with budget cuts that will, I think, limit or end their behind the wheel driving courses. In time, those of our community will gain an increasing awareness of the value of learning safe driving skills. Statistics show that the chances of an unskilled teenager being involved in a crash in their first year of driving is 89%. The average cost of a crash in property/vehicle damage alone is in excess of $8,000.00. This does not include the loss of income from missed work, increased insurance premiums, medical costs when there is physical injury, legal fees in the event of a law suit, court judgments or out of court settlement costs. And, theses costs are "per crash". Imagine if you are very fortunate and your crash only costs one-tenth the average. That is still most or more than it would have cost to learn to avoid the crash. Typically, a driver will learn one defensive driving skill per crash - because of that crash. There are 23 defensive driving skills!!! It makes good sense to spend a fraction of these crash costs learning to drive crash free, than to have to crash 23 times to learn what is taught in nine hours of behind the wheel training. As parents (and others) realized this, my business will increase. In time, I will make a living; but not today. In the mean time, I am providing a valuable service to the community that I care about. I know that my service is keeping people out of vehicle crashes, graves and hospitals.
Section 2: Our charges are $60 or $109 per driving session/lesson depending on the class, lesson or Course selected.
Although we offer specific courses with specific and stated goals and time frames, we do not offer unlimited training at no additional charge to train a person to meet the goals of any Course criteria. The time criteria assigned to each course is sufficient for more than 85% of students. Ten percent of students require slightly less time to meet the passing standards and when that happens we use the extra time to develop exceptional skills. There is every advantage in being better trained over being minimally trained. About five percent of students require additional training to meet the passing standard. By the end of the first lesson, I (Joda Collins) will be able to tell student, parent and/or spouse, with a fair degree of accuracy, which of the three categories (pass with excellence, pass on average or fail to pass in designated time frame) the student driver is in. If I say nothing (at the end of the first session) about additional training, that usually means I do not anticipate any additional training will be required to meet the passing standards of the Course the student is enrolled in. I am seldom wrong in this estimate; however, not denoting a student may require more training is not the same thing as guaranteeing the student will pass the Course criteria in the time frame initially allotted. If I believe more training than is recommended, I may let student, parent and/or spouse know this at the end of the first lesson if I am not asked. I will let the student, parent and/or spouse know, if I am asked. However, denoting that more time may be required to pass a Course does not stop the student from successfully completing the Course criteria within the time frame denoted in the Course description. I find it difficult to tell a student, parent or spouse that more training is required before a student-driver can pass a Course; however, I owe an honest evaluation to each student if I am asked. Isn't that part of what you are paying me for?
One charges are between $60 and $109 per lesson depending on length.
One 45-minutes session is $60.00 ($1.33 per minute)
Six or more one 1.5-hour session paid in advance is $99.00 ($1.10 per minute)
One Lesson at a time becomes a Course when meeting Course requirements.
Our charges, per Course, are between $60 and $989 depending on the Course
Beginner's Course, $60 (one 45-minute session, $133 per minute).
Goal: Learn to drive at slow speeds (up to 15mph) without hitting stationary objects.
For more details about this Course go to http://www.jodacollins.com/Course_Information.html. Some first time driver's cannot pass this "Course" (class) in 45- minutes. In that case, this becomes a class to evaluate the driver's ability, rather than a class that is "passed".
(Pass the) State Driving Test Course, $109 per 1.5 hour session ($1.21 per minute)
Goal: Learn to pass Florida, Georgia or Alabama State driving exam.
After a person is able to drive at slow speed without requiring the steering or braking assistance of the Instructor to avoid crashing into or coming dangerously close to stationary objects, it typically takes two 1.5 hour lessons to learn the skills necessary to pass the State Driving Exam. However, a (very) few have completed this training in a single 1.5 hour session. Homework is assigned and those that do the homework as assigned, have a much better chance of completing this Course in one 1.5-hour driving session. The charge per 1.5-hour lesson is $109.00. I am often asked how long it takes for a person to prepare for the State Driving Exam. That depends on the student's learning speed, their dedication to task and the amount of homework the individual does prior to taking our behind the wheel training. We do not assign homework prior to the behind the wheel experience because we have found that a significant percentage of people reject the behind the wheel training if they are asked to do homework. Still, those that do the homework before taking the behind the wheel training ALWAYS do better, learn more and learn faster. If you want to get a head start on your emerging driving skill, ask us prior to your first lesson for the appropriate homework. If is free.
Two lessons, $215 ($3 discount) $1.19 per minute
Offensive Driving Course, $316.00 ($1.17 per minute)
Goal: Learn to drive safely in mild traffic, among other safe drivers and in good weather.
Six 45-minute sessions, or
Three 1.5-hour sessions ($316).
For more details about this Course go to http://www.jodacollins.com/Course_Information.html and click on "Courses". While we make our 45-minute classes available, we usually promote 1.5-hour classes. All time estimates assume the student-driver can pass the, previously noted, Beginner's Course requirement (see above).
Below are our charges for four and five lessons, although there are not "official" four or five lesson Courses.
Four lessons, $414 ($22 discount) $1.15 per minute
Five lessons, $508 ($37 discount) $1.13 per minute
Defensive Driving Course, $594.00 ($1.10 cents per minute)
Goal: Learn to drive crash free for a lifetime even when driving among poor drivers, heavy traffic and/or in adverse weather conditions.
Six 1.5-hour driving sessions or twelve 45-minute driving sessions @ $594.00.
For more details about this Course go to http://www.jodacollins.com/Course_Information.html. All time estimates assume the student-driver can pass the Beginner's Course requirement (see above). The above per minute quote include the two 1-hour evaluations that follow the completion of this Course.
Maximum Proficiency Course, $989.00 ($1.09 cents per minute)
Goal: Superior driving skills. Most that graduate this Course could teach the Defensive Driving Course to others.
Ten 1.5-hour @ $989 = $1.09 cents per minute.
For more details about this Course go to http://www.jodacollins.com/Course_Information.html. The above per minute quote include the two 1-hour evaluations that follow the completion of this Course. All time estimates assume the student-driver can pass the Beginner's Course requirement (see above). The difference in the Maximum Proficiency Course and the Defensive Driving Course is not the information learned, but developing a more secure habit of applying the 23 defensive driving skills. Forty-five minute sessions are not offered for this Course.
Why do we offer different time frames for lessons?
Our time frames for a teaching/driving session are 45-minutes and 90-minutes. For most students, we recommend 90-minute sessions because most students can easily handle 90-minutes of training. We do take a two or three minute break most sessions to give the student and the instructor a chance to rest and reflect. This is for the safety of everyone. The shortest time for a teaching/driving session is 45-minutes. The 45-minute session is for the individual that is excessively nervous, especially dangerous behind the wheel and becomes more nervous with increased time behind the wheel. Very few fit into this category; however, we need to have a shorten lesson time frame for the person that needs a shorten session to reduce excessive stress or provide the necessary amount of safety. We also mention the 45-minute sessions with first time callers because, on first evaluation, many people are more positive towards getting twice as many of something. What I mean by that is, for example, if a caller asked how many lessons are provided for the $594 Defensive Driving Course, many are more impressed with getting twelve 45-minute sessions than they are at getting six 90-minute sessions simply because twelve is twice as much as six. At first hearing, it may sound good to get twelve of something rather than six. However, twice the sessions require twice the charge for pick up fees or twice the effort to drive to my Office for, at best and for most students, the same results. Also, most students can handle 90-minutes behind the wheel. Therefore, I encourage 90-minute training sessions because it is easier to "build" driving skills when there is both sufficient time to explain and show the skill and then to have some immediate practice in applying the skill in the same session.
(The following example uses the six 1.5 hour driving sessions that constitute the $594 Defensive Driving Course. Other Courses use the same concepts but the financial figures alter slightly.)
I am asked, often, if a student takes six lessons paying for each lesson one at a time, can the discount of $60 be applied to the sixth lesson since paying for six lessons in advance reduces the cost to from $109 to $99 per lesson? I am sorry, but no. The primary reason we give the discount to those that pay for lessons in advance, is because collecting one time for many lessons saves us bookkeeping time. Rather than pay our bookkeeper to record many transactions per student, we pay him to record one transaction. My bookkeeper charges me $10 per financial recording and for that fee takes care of all facets of the bookkeeping, tax reporting and banking responsibilities. Therefore, applying a retroactive financial discount for students that paid in bits and pieces for their Course of training is not cost effective for me because each payment costs me $10 to have recorded and reported. In addition, although the "payment" that follows the end of each driving lesson is supposed to be included in the lesson time, as often as I can, I try to give the full lesson time to the student in behind the wheel driving and take the "transaction" time from my own time. If I have six payment dates rather than one, those additional five "transaction times" take my time and increases my "service" to the Client but does not increase my income from that service. My suggestion is that Clients pay for any Course in advance and if the Client decides to end training early, the Client gets a refund for the most recently completed driving session and any unused lessons at the per lesson rate of $60 for 45-minute lessons or $109 for 1.5-hour lessons, plus any unused pick up fees.
Let's use, for our example, a situation where the Client used five of the six 1.5 hour lessons and wants a refund for the sixth lesson because he/she did not feel he needed as he learned the 23 defensive driving skills in five lessons. The total paid for six 1.5 hour lessons is $594.00. However, only five lessons were taken. Multiply $109 times five ($545) and subtract that amount from $594 and that constitutes the "refund". ($594 minus $545 is $49.00). Because the Client did not finish the six lessons the Client forfeits the financial benefit that paying for six lessons in advance provides. In other words, each lesson is $109, and not $99.00.
Section 3: The first lessons ALWAYS begins in a parking or vacant lot to insure the Student driver can
control the vehicle enough and follow the directions of the Instructor well enough to drive safely in traffic.
For defensive driving schools, the first two miles a student is behind the wheel are the most dangerous and incur (percentage wise) the most crashes. Therefore, it is to everyone's advantage that the first mile or two behind the wheel be in the safest environment possible.
Section 4: Discount for advance payment of six or more 1.5 hour sessions is $10 per lesson. Therefore, instead of paying $109 times six which is $654, the charge is $99 times 6 which is $594.00. Because our profit margin is 11% (3% below the transportation industry standard) we cannot offer greater discounts. By "paying in advance" for a Course, we mean to pay the full cost of the Course no later than the end of the first driving session.
Summary of charges paid in advance (that is, not later than the end of the first driving session):
One 45 minute lesson, $60 ($1.33 per minute)
ALL REMAIN LESSONS NOTED IN THIS SECTION ARE 1.5 HOUR LESSONS:
One Lesson, $109 (no discount) $1.21 per minute.
Two lessons, $215 ($3 discount) $1.19 per minute
Three lessons, $316 ($11 discount) $1.17 per minute
Four lessons, $414 ($22 discount) $1.15 per minute
Five lessons, $508 ($37 discount) $1.13 per minute
Six lessons, $594 ($60 discount) $1.10 per minute
Ten lessons, $989 ($101 discount) $1.09 per minute
Section 5. Door-to-door pick up fee discount, if any, is reflected on every receipt.
May I ask you a question? Would you take an hour off of work tomorrow and drive your vehicle 50 miles for me? If you would, would you do that for me free? How much would you charge me for your lost hour of work income and for the 50 mile use of your vehicle? Please think of that charge. What is it? _________.
If you ask me to provide you door-to-door pick up service, you are asking me to invest my work time in you and miles of travel on my vehicle for your benefit. My charges to provide my work time and my vehicle are, probably, about the same or less than you would charge me for the same time and vehicle investment. I am happy to provide a door-to-door serivce for you. However, please understand, I do not work for free and running my vehicle costs me money. I am not being unreasonable to ask you to pay for my time and vehicle expense to serve you just as you would not be unreasonable to charge me for investing your time and for driving your vehicle to serve me.
Consider this also; every hour I spend in my vehicle driving to provide door-to-door service for you is an hour I could be using my vehicle to earn income from others teaching behind-the-wheel training. Isn't it right that I be reimbursed for, at least, some of that income that I forfiet in providing you door-to-door service?
The best way to avoid the expenses of providing door-to-door services is to begin and end all driving sessions at the Joda Collins Driving Academy Office. If that is not possible for you, then we will pay for 25% of the expense to come to your door, but you will have to incur 75% of the expense. There is insufficeint profit in the charges for training to cover all of our expenses to provide door-to-door service. Sorry.
We charge about 40% of what it would cost to take a taxi; taxi’s work on about a 14% profit margin. If a taxi is only making 14% above expenses charging more than twice the amount for the same miles we travel to provide you a door-to-door service, obviously we are losing money in providing this service to our Clients. We are grateful to those who understand this and are not critical of us for asking our Clients that use this service to help us recoup a portion of the money we spend providing it.
Our door-to-door pickup charge for the first 50 round trip miles is:
A. $1 per round trip mile, or
B. $12 per round trip driving hour plus 84 cents per round trip mile, whichever is less.
For round-trip mile 51 and over, the charge is $1.35 per mile.
Our average actual expense to provide door-to-door pick up service is $1.35 per round trip mile. Because we charge only $1 per round trip mile (not to exceed 50 round trip miles from our Office), which is less than our actual expense to pick up a student at a location of their choice, the difference between our actual cost in providing the pick up service ($1.35 per round trip mile) and the charge to the student ($1 per round trip mile) is reflected on the Client's receipt as a "discount." See, also, Section 10 (below).
Permit me to further clarify.
The “average” crash costs $8,040.00 in property damage alone, not counting the possible loss of job income, hospital bills, lawsuits or funeral expenses. If it is impossible for you to begin your driving sessions at our Office, if you can dramatically increase your changes of avoiding the expense and heartache of vehicle crashes for an additional investment of $179, that seems to be a wise investment to me. If, after additional reflection, if it seems like a wise investment to you and is a possibility, give me a call.
I look forward to being of service to you.
because of our increased stress and loss of training time, as clarified in this paragraph. We provide the vehicle for driver's training. Our vehicle has a passenger's side brake which provides additional safety because the Instructor can reduce the speed of the vehicle at any time without reverting to the emergency procedure of turning off the engine or limiting his action to dramatically taking the steering wheel to steer out of danger. However, a Client may wish to use his or her own vehicle for the training. This is acceptable if the Instructor believes there is no significant added danger in teaching a particular student in a vehicle without a second brake. However, there is added stress and added responsibility to the Instructor because he does not have the safety and assurance of a passenger's side brake. Because of this added stress and added responsibility on the Instructor, there are no discounts to the Client for using his or her vehicle for training. When using a Client's vehicle, the Client must produce proof of insurance, all safety equipment (lights, horn, wipers, etc) must work and the vehicle owner must sign a waver signifying that Joda Collins and the Joda Collins' Driving Academy shall not be held liable for any crash or any consequences of a crash or vehicle maneuver. Our insurance only covers us when we are in a vehicle with a second brake. Training student-drivers demands the constant attention of the Instructor. It is stressful. The stress level increases when the Instructor cannot stop the vehicle with a second brake. For the safety of everyone, we limit the Instructor to six hours of Instruction behind the wheel each day. We calculate training time in a vehicle with no second brake as one and one half the "stress" level of teaching in a vehicle with a second brake. Teaching in a vehicle without a second brake is more stressful and more expense for us; therefore, we do not charge less.
Section 7: We accept payment for a single lesson the day of the training no later than at the end of
the training session and payment for a Course no later than at the end of the first session.
We accept cash, check, money order, cashier's check, MasterCard and Visa. We accept debit cards that have the MasterCard or Visa logo. Using Visa or MasterCard does incur significant costs to us and we pass a part of that cost on to the Client that uses the credit or debit card rather than increase the cost to all Clients. We do ask for the full payment prior at the beginning of the lesson; however, refunds are immediate and "on the spot" if Client is not satisfied with our service, excluding used pick up fees. In addition, we schedule 10-minutes of time at no charge to the Client before the first driving session to complete all necessary paperwork. This includes receiving payment. If payment is at the end of the first session, we will end the first session five minutes early in order to complete the transaction because the Instructor is working on a time commitment and, usually, has only the driving time available to get to the next appointment. We will add that five-minutes to a coming training session.
Section 8: RETURNED CHECK FEE ($60). "CONVENIENCE" CHARGE FOR Visa/MasterCard debit/credit is (7.5% not to exceed $15 per Visa/MasterCard credit/debit card use):
Visa and MasterCard brag to those that sell credit card machines and Visa/MasterCard contracts to businesses "on commission" that "there are more than 200 difference charges that can be applied to a merchant for use of Visa or MasterCard. We believe it! We pay horrendous fees to MasterCard and Visa; up to 10% of our total funds collected in some cases. I am not sure if every business is charged such outrageous fees, but we are. I (Joda Collins) have grown to hate the financial policies of MasterCard and Visa. We charge 7.5% not to exceed $15.00 for each use of Visa/MasterCard debit/credit cards. At that charge, we are still paying a great deal more to MasterCard and Visa for their many "fees" than or Clients that pay with Visa or MasterCard Credit/Debit reimburse us. We will gladly take your Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card, but we ask you to help us with the charges that we incur by reimbursing us for part of our costs to provide this service. The Visa or MasterCard credit/debt card "convenience" fee for $109 is $8.00 and $15 for charges of $200 or more.
RETURNED CHECK: Our bank charges $40 for a returned check and we charge $20 for additional bookkeeping costs we incur. We pass those expenses on to those who write us a check on insufficient funds. It is a felony to write a check of $100 or more on insufficient funds. We prosecute those who write us a bad check if there is no timely effort to clear the debt. We prosecute for the face value of the check, plus $60, plus any litigation costs. If we did not collect for bad checks, we would have to stop offering the service of taking personal checks. If we receive a check written on insufficient funds, all future payments for our services must be by cash, Visa/MasterCard credit card/debit card, money order or cashier's check OR (at the student's request) we will use the behind the wheel driving time to go to the client's bank and cash his or her check. Please do not ask for an exception to this unless you are paying in advance by check and allowing that check to clear before the driving lesson beings. If we provided an exception for one, then fairness and good business ethics requires us to extend the exemption to everyone and, sooner or later, that lax approach would cost us a great deal of money. Please do not be offended on a personal level because we require advance payment following a check written on insufficient funds. It is just good business. We will not be offended if your check does not clear your bank. It has happened to everyone, me (Joda Collins) included. It is embarrassing, I know. We will not make an issue of it. We will not embarrass you or be critical of you. We will simply institute the good business practice of asking for advance payment thereafter. Again, it is not personal, it is just a good business practice. We also post on this page the names, dollar amount, City and State of those that write us a check on insufficient funds and make no timely effort to clear the debt. A "timely effort" is described as a monthly payment of no less than 1/12th of the total due. The total due is the amount of the original bad check, a $60 bad check fee plus an $10 bookkeeping fee each payment plus any litigation expenses we incurred to secure payment. Said payments must be received, at least, once each month beginning the month following our notification to the Client of their returned check.
The following individuals have written us a check on insufficient funds and have not made any reasonable effort to clear their debt to us.
NONE
Section 9: We do not rent our vehicle for Students/Clients to take the State driver's license test
unless advance arrangements have been made and the Student-driver qualifies in accord with the provision noted below. We realize that some may find it difficult to find a vehicle to use for the driving test; however, we grow weary of those that feel taking lessons from us entitles them to an on-demand free and unrestricted personal use of our vehicle. It does not. However, if a person wants to rent our vehicle and is willing to meet the standards of graduating our Defensive Driving Course, we will rent our vehicle for the Florida State Driving Exam. To graduate the Defensive Driving Course requires no less than nine hours behind the wheel training and the passing of the final behind the wheel exam. For additional details regarding our Defensive Driving Course, go to our "Course" page on our web site (www.JodaCollins.com). We require students to meet the standards for graduating the Defensive Driving Course because we have only one vehicle and if that vehicle crashes, we are out of business until it is repaired or replaced. The charge for renting our vehicle for the Florida State Driving Exam is $1.35 per minute round trip from our Office with a $149.00 minimum for up to one hour that the Instructor is at the Department of Motor Vehicles on your behalf. After one-hour, the charge is $1 per minute. Anticipate the driving exam will take 35 to 45 minutes. On your State testing day, our Instructor drives the vehicle under all conditions except for your Florida State Driving Exam.
Section 10: We will pick you up at any location within 100 round trip miles of our Office if you will
cover 75% ($1 per round trip mile) of our actual cost ($1.35 per round trip mile) that we incur to provide this service for the first 50 round trip miles and the full cost ($1.35 per round trip mile) for miles 51 through 100. It costs us $1.35 per round trip mile to drive our vehicle (including Instructor's salary). Seventy five percent of $1.35 is $1.00 per round trip mile. (Note: If calculating the pick up charge at $12 per round trip driving hour and 82 cents per round trip mile totals less than the above per mile only calculations, we charge the lower fee.)
Some boldly expect that we will provide the pick up service for free and express that our Instructor should not be paid for this time driving to and from pick up locations. When someone asks me that, I ask them if they work for free at their place of employment or donate miles of travel in their own vehicle for company use. Some get offended when I ask that. Our Instructor does not work for free either and he, also, takes offense when someone suggests that he should. "If you value yourself, you will value your time." M. Scott Peck, Author, 1936-2005, http://www.mascot.com/index.html. With the price of fuel, office overhead, vehicle maintenance and the cost (value) of our Instructor's time, we cannot drive to your doorstep for less than our current charges and stay in business for more than six months.
Pick up service is very costly to us. Some driving schools increase the cost to all students (including those that begin and end their driving lessons at the driving school office) to cover the cost of door-to-door pick up provided to others. We do not. We only charge those for the service, that use the service. And, then, we only charge 75% of the actual costs for providing the service. Thank you for understanding. We do not like paying for 25% of the expense and we do not like charging anyone 75% of the actual cost, however, because the expenses are real and unavoidable, the charge is necessary.
You may ask how we can provide this service when it costs us money to provide it. That is a good question. (1) We take some of the costs out of the profit we make in teaching the class. (2) We try to schedule clients in a way that puts us closer to the next student so we do not have to, always, make a round trip back to the Office. (3) If the profit is not there, we do not pay the instructor full hourly pay, but less than his typical hourly income. Without doing these three things, we could not provide a pick up service.
Section 11: We cannot guarantee graduation from any Course of training in the designated time frame
because we do not know a student's learning speed or commitment level. Graduation occurs when the student meets the four criteria:
(1) Applying the 23 defensive driving skills.
(2) Passing the final (over-the-road) driving exam.
(3) Completing the assigned homework.
(4) Completing nine hours of supervised behind the wheel driving training.
If a person has the time behind the wheel but cannot pass the over the road evaluation of the required driving skills, then graduation is not earned.
The time designation of one class/session is 45-minutes or 1.5 hours. For calculation purposes, we use the 1.5 hour time frame. The Defensive Driving Course consists of twelve 45-minute or six 1.5-hour lessons with 18-hours homework assigned. The strengths, dedication level and learning ability of each student is unique; therefore, we cannot guarantee every student will learn or master the material offered in the Course within the prescribed driving sessions nor accomplish all of the homework; however, we do our best to reach these goals. Every previous Student will testify that from the time the Student enters the training vehicle until the time he or she exists the training vehicle there is constant training.
Student-drivers should complete any or all Courses in the destignated time frame:
1. If a student's first language is English
2. Is motivate to learn
3. Completes the 3-hours of homework for each driving session
4. Is from America and accustomed to the driving habits of America
5. Has average or better intelligence
6. Has no mental or emotional difficulties that would interfere with driving learning
7. Knows the rules of the road
8. Has a private vehicle to practice his/her emerging driving skills (after safe enough to drive without a professional Instructor and in a vehicle with no second brake)
9. Pays attention to the Instructor
10. Is able to follow instructions
then, there is no anticipated reason why that student would not complete the requirements of each course within the designated time frame. If any of the above factors (1-10) are missing, anticipate the student-driver may not pass any Course in the prescribed time frame.
Learning to be a safe driver is harder for some. I use the analogy that I am not a very good athlete. I learn games
that require athleticism, slowly. I have to work harder at things like golf, bowling, water skiing and karate than others
in order to do as well as others. Still, I carry a 175 bowling average, was a slalom (one-ski) skier that could "take off" from the shoreline when I was younger (I would like to think I could do it now, but I wonder), was scheduled for my brown belt exam when I quit taking karate lessons and once was a golfer with a 13 handicap. I worked much harder than most for those goals because I am not a natural athlete. Likewise, the person that finds learning to be a safe driver difficult, can learn the necessary skills. It will take longer and he or she will have to work harder, but it can be done! And, when you do succeed, there is degree of personal satisfaction that others, who find the task easier, do not have. I am not less of a person because sports is not easy for me. Neither is a person less of a person because safe driving does not come easy. We all excel at something. We all have weaknesses. So what! Work harder in areas that are not easy for you and rejoice to excel more quickly in areas that you find easy.
Section 12: When a student graduates from the "Defensive Driving Course" and/or the Advanced
Defensive Driving Course (receives a Certificate of Graduation) he/she receives two complimentary
one-hour refresher lessons within the time frame and terms/conditions noted below.
For these two one-hour "refresher lessons" the student uses his or her vehicle, must provide proof of insurance and the owner must sign a waiver of responsibility freeing the instructor and the Academy from any and all liability. Plus, the vehicle must meet a standard safety test (lights, brakes, turn signals, etc).
If the student wants to use my vehicle that is acceptable. The charge for use of my vehicle is $75.00 per session for the remainder of this month and for all of next month, plus $1.35 per round trip mile for pick up fees unless the lesson begins and ends at our Office. We do not send reminders for these free lessons. It is the Student's/Client's responsibility to contact us in a timely fashion. Unless otherwise noted, scheduling and time limitations are as follows:
The first session is approximately three months following graduation. The second session takes place approximately six months following graduation. The exact day and time is agreed on by the Student and the Driving Academy.
Students that allow time to pass beyond these "expiration dates", forfeit this benefit. Clients that miss thier
scheduled lesson and do not notify us by phone (850 981-3355) or email (JodaCollins@aol.com) by 9pm the
previous evening forfeit the lesson even if the student has an excellent reason for missing the session. When a
Client misses a refresher lesson, there is no rescheduling of that lesson. Rescheduling a free lesson is simply not cost effective as one free hour rescheduled turns into two hours of free service. My (Joda Collins) reschedule rate of students due to me scheduling is less than 1%, so there is almost no chance that I will cause or create
a rescheduling; however, if I do need to reschedule, I will give you (the Client) as much advance notice as possible,
along with my sincere apologies and a rescheduled date that is convenient for you.
"Refresher" driving lessons must begin and end at our Office, otherwise (full) CURRENT pick up charges apply.
Please remember, "full" pick up charges are NOT the charges Client's paid for previous paid service. For paid
training lessons, we absorbed and deduct from our profit, some of the actual costs we incurred to provide the door-to-door pick up service. Because we are making no profit for free refresher lessons, FULL charges for door-to-door pick up apply ($1.35 per round trip mile). We cannot afford to pay for any of the actual door-to-door pick up costs when we are giving away our services. CURRENT (today's) pick up fee is $1.35 per round trip mile. Tomorrow's pick up fee is subject to change without notice. The pick up fee is based on the following current
situation: Fuel is currently (as of March 2009) $2.25 per gallon, plentiful and easily available and the economy is
currently volatile, but "somewhat" stable. If fuel becomes more expensive or in short supply and if our economy falters significantly, the pick up fee price may change without notice. However, pick up fees will be $1.35 per round trip mile for all students graduating now.
Of course, there are no pick up fees for lessons that begin and end at our Office.
Section 13: Our Guarantee.
We guarantee your satisfaction or your money back in accord with our refund policy as outlined in Section #15, below. We are not affiliated with any business bureau because the primary purpose of a business bureau is to negotiate settlements between client/customer and merchant. Our liberal refund policy makes such negotiations unnecessary. If you feel you have not gotten your monies worth, don't pay us. Simple. If you pay in advance and are unhappy with our service, we will refund any unused fees, plus some; generous, we think. Again, see Section 15 for all details.
We guarantee graduates of the Defensive Driving Course and/or the Advance Course will pass the Florida State Driving behind the wheel test or we will provide up to one hour of additional training to help the student-driver with the areas he/she failed in that test. We offer this service as many times as needed as long as there is no more than six months between graduation from the Defensive Driving Course and the date of taking the State Driving Exam and no more than six months between each subsequent attempt at taking and passing the State Driving Exam. However, the free training must be in the Clients vehicle, unless otherwise agreed and the lesson must start and end at the Joda Collins Driving Academy, unless otherwise agreed.
Section 14: Standard charges (as outlined herein) will not increase to any client during the contractual period even though our cost of doing business may increase in this volatile economic environment.
A "contractual period" begins the date of this contact and extends 7 (seven) days past the most recent driving lesson provided to our Client. By "standard charges" we mean the charges noted in Section 2 above. Because we work on only an 11% profit margin, typically, we provide no charges below what are outlined in Section 2 above. In the odd event that a Client is provided a discount, we do not guarantee further discounts for additional training.
Section 15: We Guarantee your satisfaction or, upon request if on the same day as training, we refund
the fees paid for the most recent driving lesson completed ($109 for a single lesson or $99 for each
lesson of a six-session Course) and all unused fees (including lessons paid for in advance and any
unused pick up fees). Used pick up fees, reimbursed toll charges and credit card "convenience" fees are not refundable.
Of course, the refund terminates the working relationship of our driving academy with the Client requesting said
refund. We ask the Client to give us every opportunity to satisfy his or her expectations before asking for a refund.
Refund shall be within 24 hours if client paid by cash, money order, credit or debit card or, if paying by check,
within 72 hours of the check clearing our bank unless I have a check in hand that is for lessons only and in that case, I simply return the check. Those who pay for a Course in advance, but end their training early
will be reimbursed for all unused classes using the following formula: One hundred nine dollars times all lessons provided minus the $594.00 total. Thus, the Client pays the normal price for individual lessons paid in advance ($109) rather than the Course discount price ($99) for six lessons. This is reasonable given the fact that the Client did not take six lessons and should not expect the discount that accompanies paying for six lessons in advance. Refund must be requested the same day the training is provided (that is, before midnight) or within four hours of training, whichever is the longer period of time. Pick up fees and toll charges are not refundable.
We do not give refunds when a person graduates a Course and accepts the graduation certificate or when a person is under a court-ordered or a State, city or county requested program. We do not give refunds if a student fails the State driving exam; however, if a student is a graduate of either of our Courses and fails the State Driving Exam we will provide one additional lesson of up to 1.5 hours in length to help the student in areas of driving difficulties. Said lesson must begin and end at our Office or the same pick up fees we charged the Client during his or her training for door-to-door pick up apply. Used pick up fees, reimbursed toll charges and credit card convenience fees are not refundable in whole or in part.
“…If a Student scores 100 or more on the Joda Collins “General Score” and has taken at least three 1.5 hour lessons, we
do guarantee the student will pass the State Driving “behind the wheel” test. If a Student, who has scored 100 points or more
and has no less than three 1.5 hour behind the wheel lessons from us, fails the State Driving (behind the wheel) exam, then
we offer a free driving session of up to one hour to help the Student with the driving skills the Student failed. The lesson
must begin and end at our Office or standard pick up fees apply ($1 per round trip mile) plus any bridge tolls.”
Section 16: The Client and/or the Joda Collins' Driving Academy may terminate the working agreement HOW TO USE THE STUDY BOOK
Paperback: $20.00 or less (including US Post Office s/h). See web page for current price. Download: FREE This book for those that are taking behind-the-wheel training from the
for any reason and at any time and without penalty.
We (the Joda Collins' Driving Academy) may terminate service if we feel the student poses an ongoing undue danger to others on the road, consistently fails to advance in learning, consistently fails to follow directions while behind the wheel, or fails to show up for more than one scheduled appointment without reimbursing the Academy in accord with the provisions of Section 18 and 19 of this document.
Section 17: If your goal is to "just pass the State driving test", it is your responsibility to inform us of that
in advance.
We are a defensive driving school. That means we teach the 23 defensive driving skills. It takes time to teach these
skills. Knowing defensive driving skills best insures a lifetime of ticket free and crash free driving. For those that
want only to learn how to use the steering wheel, accelerator and brake just well enough to, most probably, pass the
State driving test, said students are required to let us know that in advance. That will reduce the training time by
about 40%. The Florida State driving exam is performed on private property, in a small area, at speeds that seldom (if ever) exceed 25mph and with no other traffic around. To train to pass this test we duplicate this environment and seldom, if ever, take the student-driver to the open road unless doing so to help the student-driver learn steering control. Therefore, it may be reasonable to assume that the student will not be a safe driver in any typical driving environment. Student may be "safe" only in mild (calm) driving environments and among good to excellent drivers; and may be a danger to self and others.This 40% savings in time and money does not seem worth it to us, in light of the fact that the average vehicle crash with no personal injury costs in excess of $8,000 and the average vehicle crash with bodily injury costs in excess of 1.2 million dollars.
We assume those that come to us seek to be safe drivers and learn the defensive driving skills. If your goal is to "just pass the State driving test", tell us in advance and we will honor that request without criticism or further comment. After learning to control the vehicle enough not to need the intervention of the Instructor to avoid crashing in a calm driving environment, many students can learn enough to pass the State driving test in two to three lessons. Under normal circumstances, a student can learn the 23 defensive driving skills in six lessons. (That is our "Defensive Driving Course").
Section 18: Please, please do not reschedule for slight reasons; however, if you must reschedule do so
by 9pm the previous night to avoid charges.
Cancellations within 24 hours of the schedule lesson cost us a tremendous amount of money and
threaten the success of our business. Since most Clients schedule their driving lesson a week or so in
advance, the chance of filling a canceled time slot that has not been canceled days in advance, is almost zero. Our income for that canceled session is sacrificed and our chances of filling the time slot with another student is, basically, zero. If a person misses an appointment for any "personal" reason, even an
excellent reason and does not cancel, at least, by 9pm the previous night we charge for that missed driving lesson.
What constitutes a valid rescheduling? Call 850 981-3355 or email JodaCollins@aol.com and let us know of your
need to reschedule. An email to JodaCollins@aol.com or phone call to 850 981-3355 (a message on the answering machine is sufficient) at least by 9pm the previous night constitutes a valid rescheduling request and the Client will not be asked to pay for the missed session.
At this point, there is always the individual that feels their reason for canceling late is valid. We realize that things
come up at the last minute that force changes to important plans; however, it is our experience that there are many
people in the world that simply do not do what they say they are going to do because they "don't feel like it when it
comes time to do it", because "something came up that they would rather do", or because they "forgot." We are
not saying that you are that kind of person. We do not not know if you are that kind of person or not. We do not yet
know you personally. We are saying that unless we have a strict cancellation policy then those kind of people will put us out of business.
We cannot afford a lax cancellation policy with anyone because if we have a lax cancellation policy with anyone,
then fairness mandates that we have a lax cancellation policy with everyone, and then we are out of business. A lax cancellation policy threatens the success of this business because we count on people keeping their
appointments. So far, we have not increased our costs to everyone to offset the costs of those that cancel late or
miss appointments. Missed appointments are few, thanks to good Clients and to our strict cancellation policy.
We do not cancel driving sessions for "bad weather", except for hurricane force winds. We do charge
extra to train in bad weather if a person wants to wait for bad weather in order to learn to drive in it. Those that do
not learn to drive in bad weather are consigned to a life of being "grounded" when it rains, storms, etc. Those that
do not learn to drive in bad weather pose a danger to themselves and to others if bad weather strikes unexpectedly
while the unskilled driver is behind the wheel. Learn the safe driving skills that accompany good drivers in adverse
weather rather than live a lifetime fearful of and in subjection to water and wind. That said, if you are coming to my
office to begin your driving session and you do not have the skills to drive in bad weather, or whoever is bringing
you to the office does not have the skills to drive in bad weather, do not take the chance of crashing. Feel free to
reschedule. You will not be charged for missing the appointment. That said, please do not take advantage of this
kindness by simply using bad weather as an excuse not to keep your scheduled appointment. We count on our
Clients to keep their appointments when they can. If you can, please do. If you drive through rain or storm to keep
your scheduled appointment, we thank you, most sincerely.
Driving in the rain and wind is part of learning to drive. In fact, our "Adverse Weather" Course can only occur when
there is bad weather. If bad weather occurs during your regularly scheduled driving lesson, there is no extra charge.
That Course costs extra. So, if there is bad weather the Client that has not enrolled in the "Adverse Weather"
Course will get additional defensive driving training for no additional cost. New students can take confidence in the
fact that because of the skill of the driving Instructor, there is no significant added danger in driving in adverse
weather conditions.
The weather patterns here is so varied that it may be storming in one zip code and sunshine and blue skies in
another; it may be storming for 10 minutes and then clear up to be the prettiest day of the year. Don't let the current
weather cause you to cancel or reschedule, please. If we canceled our appointments every time the weather report
said "possible rain", every time the road was wet, every time it rained, the wind blew boldly, or there was lightning,
we might as well close the business down.
Section 19: No-show Policy. Late policy (loss of time).
If a student fails to show up for a scheduled lesson and does not call to cancel or reschedule before 9pm the previous night, the Joda Collins Driving Academy reserves the right to pronouce that the Client's time is forfeited and not refund any money. If we provide a door-to-door service and the Student-driver is not there, does not take the lesson, or does not pay for the lesson, as a minimum, the full door-to-door service fee of $1.35 is mandatory. We depend on our Clients keeping their appointments for our financial success.
Student that are late to an driving session forfeit the amount of time they are late without financial remuneration.
If the Instructor is 15 minutes or less late, every effort will be made to extend that session 15 minutes and if that is
not possible an additional 15 minutes will be added to any further lesson or lessons.
Section 20: Liability Waiver.
Training includes preparing the Student for the State mandated "quick stop" and "quick start". These are not a gentle movements. In addition, students often drive erratically. The Instructor's corrective attempts to avoid crashes or danger are sometimes abrupt. Riding in a driver's training vehicle can be tumultuous. Sometimes, it can be as rough as being on a roller coaster. The signatures, below, release Joda Collins and the Joda Collins Driving Academy from all physical and emotional damage to all vehicle occupants that is unrelated to a vehicle crash regardless of who does or does not apply the brake or brakes, who does or does not steer or who is or is not behind the wheel.
There is an element of “assumed risk” that accompanies riding in a vehicle driven by inexperience drivers. While
my insurance does cover all occupants in the event of any crash, regardless of the circumstances, my insurance
does not cover any physical damage to the body of emotional damage to the psyche of any individual that might be whipped around in the vehicle due to sudden turns or movements because of training or because of the quick movement of inexperienced drivers. If you cannot ride in a roller coaster with confidence and with an expectation of joyous probability of the unprepared for jolt, do not ride in a driver’s training vehicle. The driving patterns of inexperienced drivers can be abrupt beyond expectations.
Section 21: Homework
There is no homework for those taking less than the Defensive Driving Course (nine hours behind the wheel). Those that are taking the Defensive Driving Course do not have to complete the homework unless they want to "graduate" from the Defensive Driving Course; that is, is it acceptable to take nine hours behind the wheel and learn as much as one can learn from behind the wheel training without doing homework. However, to "graduate" from the Defensive Driving Course, one of the requirements is the completion of 18-hours of homework. That homework is the completion of a workbook that I will make available to every student (as a free on line download or a paperback book) at or before the first driving session. The only "homework" assignment that is required for the first session (of the Defensive Driving Course) is to memorize the following, "Ahead, behind, mirror, shoulder, signal". To accomplish the remainder of the homework requires about 3.5 hours of study between each lesson. Those who want to get a head start on the homework can complete Chapter One in advance. This will better prepare the student for the first session and, proportionately, reduce the amount of study time required between each lesson. The study book is available on line with a free download or for less than $20.00 (including s/h) for those that want a paperback copy. In most cases, I have copies of the book. Students can buy the book from me directly for less than $20.00. If I have a copy available a student can borrow the copy for free and return it at the next to last session. I do not always have copies of the book, so inquire early. If I do not have a copy of the book and you want to buy one it takes about 10 days to get it when ordering it on line. To order on line, go to www.LuLu.com/JodaCollins.
Doing the homework provides the student the following benefits:
1. It is part of the requirement for graduation from the Defensive Driving Course.
2. The student will be better prepared to learn since some of the homework is jargon related to defensive driving skills. If the student knows the jargon and the particular benefit of the defensive driving technique (of which there are 23), that increases the time the student drives to practice the defensive driving skill by reducing the time I have to have the student-driver stop the vehicle so I can explain the jargon and defensive driving skill to the student.
3. Because the student has spent more time driving and practicing, the student will be a better driver.
4. Because the student has spent more time driving, the student will have a better chance of passing the final behind the wheel exam on the last day of driving.
Those that are taking less than the Defensive Driving Course but do the homework will benefit in the same way as noted in #2 and #3 above.
Those that secure the book via the free download DO NOT have to reproduce the book on their printer. All a student has to do is answer the questions on a piece of 8.5" x 11" lined paper.
Joda Collins Driving Academy Study Book
Go to www.LuLu.com/JodaCollins to secure a free download of this book.
COMPLETE CHAPTER ONE PRIOR TO YOUR FIRST DRIVING SESSION
Notice: Eighteen hours of homework is required to as part of the requirements of passing the Defensive Driving Course. No one is expected to do more than 3.5 hours of homework before the first driving session and 3.5 hours homework between each driving session; however, in order to get the most from this effort, it is important that the 3.5 hours of homework be a solid and dedicated 3.5 hour of real work. If you do not complete the homework, attend your driving session anyway! Thank you.
COMPLETE CHAPTER TWO PRIOR TO YOUR SECOND DRIVING SESSION
Notice: As a student-driver and a child (of a parent), it works best if you do not “tell” your parents that they might be driving unsafely or not in a manner that employs the defensive driving skills you are learning. Most parents see that as you being critical of them. They did not pay for your training so they could be criticized, obviously. Rather, just tell them what you learned and drive defensively. They may ask you questions, then, about your learning. If you do not complete the homework, attend your driving session anyway! Thank you.
COMPLETE CHAPTER THREE, FOUR AND FIVE PRIOR TO YOUR THIRD DRIVING SESSION
Notice: Never skip or reschedule a driving lesson because you are behind on your homework. Take your lesson as scheduled, and work to catch up on your homework, rather than be behind in your homework AND your behind the wheel training.If you do not complete the homework, attend your driving session anyway! Thank you.
COMPLETE CHAPTER SIX, SEVEN AND EIGHT PRIOR TO YOUR FOURTH DRIVING SESSION
COMPLETE CHAPTERS NINE, TEN AND ELEVEN PRIOR TO YOUR FIFTH DRIVING SESSION
COMPLETE THE REMAINDER OF THE BOOK PRIOR TO YOUR SIXTH DRIVING SESSION.
Bring this workbook, or your answers written on separate paper, with you to each driving session.
This is the study book that goes with the behind the wheel lessons you are taking in the Joda Collins Defensive Driving Course. As part of the requirement for graduation from the Defensive Driving Course, 18-hours of homework is assigned and required. Some opt to take the behind the wheel driving but not do the homework, and that is each student’s decision to make. However, graduation from the Joda Collins Defensive Driving Course does require a passing grade of 60% or better on the graded homework assignments.
No student that has completed the homework in this book (in a timely manner) has ever failed the Joda Collins Defensive Driving Course or failed their first attempt for their State driver’s license. To some degree, that success is because the behind the wheel teaching is more effective if the student does the homework of this text during the same time period as they are taking the behind the wheel training.
When a student passes the final over the road test required at Lesson Six (the last lesson), that student has up to 90-days following the completion of Lesson Six to complete and submit the homework assignment for consideration in receiving credit for graduation from the State Approved Joda Collins Defensive Driving Course. Submission of the homework up to 90-days following the last lesson does not keep the student from graduating the Defensive Driving Course; however, without the completion of, submission of and a 60% grade or better for the homework, graduation from the Defensive Driving Course is not earned and not granted. For students that can honestly testify that they committed, at least, 18 hours of study and answering questions but were unable to complete the book, said students need to let Mr. Collins know that at least 18-hours of work was committed to this effort. Mr. Collins will evaluate the sincerity of that student’s claim and respond accordingly; possibly granting graduation if the student passed the behind the wheel exam given at Lesson Six. Those that provide little or no written work for grading who claim they have spent no less than 18-hours in the effort cannot be taken seriously.
Regarding this book, the price of the book is not part of the Course fee. Those that want to keep the book can do so for a payment of less than $20.00. Check with our Office, Mr. Collins or on line (www.JodaCollins.com) for current cost of book. We do not suggest using Visa or Master/Card to charge this book because the Visa and Master/Card fees are excessive. However, if the student-client is willing in pay those extra charges ($3.50) we are willing to accept Visa/MasterCard Debit/Credit. If the book you received is not obviously new, then it is used. Those that do not want to keep this book can use this book for free and return it at the beginning of Lesson Five. Those that opt to do the homework should write their answers on a separate sheet of paper and give that homework assignment to Mr. Collins at each lesson. Use pen only. Write clearly. Answers that cannot be easily read will be marked “wrong”. Typed responses are appreciated but not required.
If you are not purchasing this book, please do not write in it and thank you for treating it kindly so the next student can have a nice book to study from.
For those that purchase the book, please write your answers in the book. Use pen only. Write clearly. Answers that cannot be read will be marked “wrong”. Please give your book to Mr. Collins at the beginning of each lesson for his review and on-the-spot grading. He will return it to you by the end of the Lesson.
For those that purchase this book, you can pay Mr. Collins directly or mail your check (do not send cash through the mail) to our Office, or simply hold on to this book until after Lesson Five and then after Lesson Five you will be billed the price showing in the upper right corner of the Title Page of your book or $10 of no price is showing on the Title Page, and provided a self-addressed envelope to return your check. Students that have only a day or so between Lesson Five and Lesson Six may receive the billing before Lesson Five. Just pretend you received the billing immediately after Lesson Five and respond accordingly, that is – return the book to Mr. Collins unmarked by you at the beginning of Lesson Six or pay for the book and keep it as your own.
We do not spend a lot of time insuring we are paid for this book by students that keep it. We have more important things to do, such as doing the best we can to insure you are an excellent driver. If you keep the book and we fail to bill you or you do not pay quickly after billing, we may forget to ask or ask again for payment. Thank you for being honest and paying for this text book, if you keep it.
For those that do not keep this book and do not complete all of the homework by the time you begin Lesson Six, you can reproduce any part of the book or go on line (www.JodaCollins.com) and secure a free download of the book so that you have the questions required for Lesson Six.
This book is the evolving result of five years as a truck driver, two years as a chauffeur and three years as a professional driving instructor.
The format is conducive to those that have, are or will take my behind the wheel defensive driving course; however, most of the content is clear enough that non-students of the Joda Collins Driving Academy can secure a great deal of helpful information.
Section 22: Can I (the Client) get a discount from my Insurance Company if my child (age 25 or below)
graduates the Joda Collins Defensive Driving Course?
Probably. Most insurance companies require a minimum of six hours behind wheel training from a State licensed
driving school. Our Defensive Driving Course consists of nine hour behind the wheel. However, every insurance
company has the right to determine thier own standards. Call your insurance company and let them know the
Joda Collins Driving Academy is a Florida State licensed driving academy, requires nine hours of supervised behind the wheel training and 18 hours of homework.
Section 23: Financial Agreement for Teaching Schedule
Beginners Course................................ $ 80.00 (no certificate, one hour)
Offensive Driving Course.................. 316.00 (certificate of completion, approx four hrs & 25 min)
This Course is also the Course offered to those that just want to pass the State
Driving Exam. If the driver is, otherwise, a good driver, we can accomplish this
in two sessions. The three session designation assumes the driver can drive at
20mph without crashing into or coming dangerously close to stationary objects.
Defensive Driving Course................ 594.00 (certificate of graduation, nine hours)
Maximum Proficiency Course........ 989.00 (certificate of graduation, eighteen hours)
One 1.5 hour session....................... 109.00 (no certificate, one and one-half hours)
Court Ordered Courses.................. 114.00 per 1.5-hr. lesson.
Court Ordered Courses are $114 per 1.5 hour lesson w/ no discounts for Course enrollment because Court ordered training costs more because of the paperwork that has to be filed with the Court.
Section 24: Payment Selection
I (the Client) intend to pay the above noted amount using (circle or underline one, or
delete all but one):
Cash
Check
Money Order
Cashier's Check
Visa or MasterCard Credit Card
Visa or MasterCard Debit Card
Section 25: Financial Agreement for Credit/Debit Card Use
Charge/Debit Card Convenience is 7.5% not to exceed $15 per credit card or debit card use.
That is $4.50 for a single $60 charge, $8 for a single $109 charge and $15 for single charges of $200 or over.
Section 26: Financial Agreement for Door-to-Door Pick Up Service.
The cost for Door-to-door pick up service is $1.35 per round trip mile. Our charge to our Clients for
door-to-door pick up service is $1 per round trip mile for the first 50 round trip miles and $1.35 per mile
for each additional round trip mile. Our Office is located at 4033 Buttonbush Dr., Milton, FL 32583.
Section 27: Policy Agreement
I have read and agree to the above provisions and responsibilities found in this document.
M. Signature or Name of Client__________________________________ Date___________
You need not sign this form electronically. A paper copy will be supplied for signatures at our first
meeting.
N. Signature of Student-driver___________________________________Date___________
This signature is required unless the Client is the Student-driver. Florida law requires the
signature of minors as an encouragement for them to read and understand all requirements
made of them in this learning experience. Minors are not held responsible for any thing
that State or Federal law exempts minors from said responsibility.You need not sign this
form electronically. A paper copy will be supplied for signatures at our first meeting.
O. Student's driver's license or permit number:
P. Issuing State (of Student's driver's license or permit):
Q. Expiration date of license or permit:
R. Date of birth of Student driver:
S. Signature or Name of Joda Collins Driving Academy Rep__________________________Date________
Typed in name and returned email constitutes a legal signature sufficient for beginning the process. A paper copy will
be signed by all at first meeting. To save paper and ink the final copy is in 8 point print. Feel free to print out a copy for
signing (for your records) with larger print size, if you desire.
Section 28: Adjustments
It is less important to the Joda Collins Driving Academy that every detail of this Working Agreement remain unchanged and more important that we have a "meeting of the minds" about mutual expectations for it is from a "meeting of the minds" that a good working relationship is created. Therefore, if you, as the Client, see anything in this Working Agreement that you would like to change, just let us know. We will do all within our power to meet any reasonable request. Thank you.
The maximum turning radius for the Joda Collins Driving Academy vehicle is 1.5 turns in either direction, therefore, do not attempt to turn the steering wheel more than 1.5 revolutions in either direction as doing so can, over time, damage the steering. True True Drivers should be aware of driving conditions for two-minutes ahead of them. True True Do not brake over rough roads (such as railroad tracks). Always slow to the appropriate speed before the rough road (such as railroad tracks) and coast over the rough part of the road. True True When backing it is If a person makes the vehicle start quickly, that is a bad thing under all conditions. False False When making a turn, the vehicle will travel in the direction the hood is pointed. False False When turning, the vehicle will travel in the direction the front tires are pointing. True True It is always dangerous to stop a vehicle quickly. False False Before applying the foot brake, always check for tailgaters. True True It is unnecessary and unimportant to know the traffic conditions behind and beside you at all times. False False At the end of your turn, is correct to wait until your hood is pointed in the direction you want to go before you being to turn your steering wheel in the opposite direction you want to travel. False False On right hand turns it is acceptable to drive off the right side of the road at the end of the turn. False False On left hand turns it is acceptable to enter the opposing lane of travel at the end of the left turn. False False On right hand turns it is acceptable to aim the vehicle towards the right shoulder of the road. False False On left hand turns it is acceptable to aim your vehicle at oncoming traffic. False False It is legal to use a vehicle to frighten pedestrians and drivers in other vehicles as long as doing so is the result of a mistake or a lack of ability to drive well. False False A driver should always time their travel so as to miss pedestrians by no more than three feet. False False If a pedestrian feels threatened by a driver, that is acceptable as long as the driver does not hit the pedestrian. False False It is legal to turn on a turn signal even if there is a vehicle immediately beside you or immediately behind you but in the lane you want to move to. False False It is acceptable to turn on a turn signal even if there is a vehicle immediately beside you or immediately behind you but in the lane you want to move to because that is the only way the other driver will know they are in danger and they should make an emergency driving move in order to get out of your way. False False The most important formula for safe driving is “Ahead, Behind, Mirror, Shoulder, Signal”. True True A student-driver can memorize the formula “Ahead, Behind, Mirror, Most people prefer to take 30 minutes to an hour behind the wheel at $1 per minute to memorize “Ahead, Behind, Mirror, Shoulder, Signal” than to take 30 minutes to an hour of their time to memorize these words in order for free. True True Joda Collins would rather take $30 to $60 from someone to help them memorize the following words in order, “Ahead, Behind, Mirror, Shoulder, Signal” than to ask them to memorize this formula before getting behind the wheel of the training vehicle. False False During training, a student-driver’s hands, including thumbs must always be on the outside of the steering wheel. True True When making a turn, always look over the hood of the car only. False False Drive a vehicle down the center of the road. Yes Yes Drive a vehicle three to four feet right of the center line evenif that puts your veihicle to the far left of your lane. False False. A vehicle and a parking space are rectangles. When parking it make sense to put a rectangle in a rectangle with a turn of the wheel that creates as much of a curve as possible. False False A vehicle and a parking space are rectangles. When parking it make sense to put a rectangle in a rectangle with a turn of the wheel that creates as much of a square (sharp turn into the parking space) as possible. True True Under most conditions, a driver cannot, legally, begin a lane change or turn unitl after his/her vehicle's turn signal has been onfor 100 feet or five seconds, whichever is longer. True True Wear tight fitting shoes for your driving session such as tennis shoes. No flip flops, sandals or croc type shoes. True or True. It is good to put the Joda Collins vehicle transmission in reverse before putting it in drive. False False
JodaCollins@aol.com
4033 Buttonbush Dr.
Milton, FL 32583
Phone: 850 981-3355
Web Site: JodaCollins.com
Email: JodaCollins@aol.com
Section 30: What to know before the first driving session.
It is not mandatory, but it is tremendouly beneficial for a student-driver to know the answers to these True/False questions before starting behind the wheel training.
Slow before a turn. Do not brake in a turn. True True
Shoulder, Signal” on their own time for free and learn in a few minutes how to apply this formula behind the wheel and thus have more time to learn additional driving skills. Or, a student-driver can pay about $1 per minute to memorize “Ahead, Behind, Mirror, Shoulder, Signal” while behind the wheel of the training vehicle and lose the additional training that he or she could have received while memorizing these five words in order. True True
When driving straight ahead, the right hand should be at the 2 o'clock position and the left hand at the 10 o'close position True True
Drive your vehicle four inches off of the left center line so that your mirror is over the center line. False False
Mr. Collins really likes it when people wear dirty clothes that smell up the cloth interior of his vehicle. False False
