Courses

INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION

Please select the Course of study from the list below this Introductory Information. We cannot serve a Client or a Student-driver if we do not know the Client's training goal or goals. It is very important that the Student-driver and the Client have agreement on which Course the Student-driver is enrolled in because it is very hard to train a driver in a Course of study the driver rejects. There is a lot of read below before selecting a Course. It is not required, but it is wise to read the introductory information carefully before selecting a Course of Study. Most Client's and Student-divers that skip the Introduction run in to difficulties later on that would have been easily avoided if the Client and the Student-driver would have read this Introductory information carefully before selecting a Course of Study.

The number of words in this section are no more than the words needed to make these important points verbally. The word count seems larger because they are in print.

No driving school can promise crash-free or citation-free driving; however, the better-trained a driver is the more likely the driver will drive crash-free and citation-free.

FREE
Every driver has access to some FREE service and materials. See the FREE page of this web site for details.

"Most drivers," as used in this column of information, means a driver of, at least, average IQ, one who is motivated to learn, speaks English as his/her first language, is accustomed to the driving patterns of America, has no learning disability, is willing to spend three to four-hours of self study in preparation for each driving lesson beginning with lesson two and will memorize the following ten words in consecutive order before the start of lesson one -- "ahead, behind, mirror, shoulder, signal, ahead, behind, mirror, shoulder, move."

HOMEWORK
Every driver is offered the option of doing homework (self-study) which always decreases the amount of time required behind-the-wheel to reach his or her driving goal(s). However, homework is an OPTION and not required. Homework is three to four hours of devoted study in preparation for each driving lesson starting with lesson two.

The location for the study workbook is: http://www.lulu.com/shop/joda-collins/joda-collins-driving-academy-course-workbook/paperback/product-22706126.html

EXTRA OPTIONAL WORK BEFORE BEHIND-THE-WHEEL TRAINING
Is the completion of the six "pre-driving courses" required before a driver can sign up for a behind-the-wheel course? Answer: No. Any driver can sign up for any Course with or without doing any of the Pre-Driving Courses. However, all of the Pre-driving Courses, including the Internet training for pre or new-drivers are FREE. Going through that training provides a strong foundation for behind-the-wheel training. Those that do the pre-driver's training work ALWAYS progress faster behind-the-wheel; some up twice as fast and half the expense.. To take advantage of the FREE pre-driving, new-driving Courses and Internet training go to: http://www.lulu.com/shop/joda-collins/book-1-pre-driving-courses/paperback/product-20122797.html.

ESTIMATE OF PROGRESS
After the first lesson and usually by email by the end of that day I will tell you how many more driving sessions, if any, I think it will take for you to reach your driving goal.

CHARGES (Non Credit Card)
Driving sessions are 75-minutes @ $140 per weekday driving session (tuition) and $145 for Saturday training. This includes a 7% discount for not using Visa or MasterCard Credit Card.

CHARGES (Visa or MasterCard Credit Card. No debit cards accepted at this time).
Driving sessions paid by Visa or MasterCard Credit Card (no debit cards accepted) is $150.54 for weekday training and $155.92 for Saturday lessons.

REBATES ARE

A. $9 total for three pre-scheduled lessons if paid for not later than the start of lesson two if paid for by the start of lesson two. Except for B above, a lesson is considered pre-scheduled if on our scheduling calendar not later than 7pm the night prior to lesson two.

B. $16 for four pre-scheduled if lessons paid for at one time if paid for by the start of lesson two. Except for B above, a lesson is considered pre-scheduled if on our scheduling calendar not later than 7pm the night prior to lesson two.

C. $70 for five prescheduled lessons if lessons are paid for not later than the start of lesson two. Except for B above, a lesson is considered pre-scheduled if on our scheduling calendar not later than 7pm the night prior to lesson two.

D. $14 per lesson times the number of lessons for six or more pre-scheduled lessons paid for not later than the start of lesson two. Except for B above, a lesson is considered pre-scheduled if on our scheduling calendar not later than 7pm the night prior to lesson two.

All rebates are for total lessons completed in accord with financial info above and paid at the start of the last paid for lesson in any series of lessons.

I do not accept payment for lessons that are not on my scheduling calendar by 7pm the night prior to payment. If you want to know why, just ask.

DO WE ENROLL A DRIVER IN MORE THAN ONE COURSE AS THE SAME TIME?
We do not enroll a student in more than one course at a time. We have reproduced a real email sent to a prospective client to best explain why we do not enroll a student-driver in more than one course at a time.

It reads:

I want my daughter to be comfortable driving in traffic and pass the State driving exam.

Our response to that email was:

We do not enroll a students in two courses at the same time just like a math student cannot be enrolled in algerbra and calculaus in the same classroom taught at the same time. The material taught in each class is often much different.

We can enroll her in:
1. The Pass the State Exam ONLY Course.
or...
2. The General Safety Course.
The Pass the State Exam ONLY Course is specialized to the test as it is given at the W. Street driver license office if you live in Escambia County or the Gulf Breeze Driver license office if you life in Santa Rosa County (unless otherwise directed).
There are benefits and liabilities / pros and cons to selection one Course over the other. It all depends on personal preferences which are effected by the drivers skill level at the start of training, the drivers rate of learning, finances, time availability, if driver does self study and memory work on his own time for free or does all learning and memory work during paid driving time and more..... There is no one size fits all formula.

Our suggestion is always to enroll in the Pass the State Driving Exam ONLY Course to start with. That way if driver loses motivation later on or if time or funds run out at least the driver can secure a driver's license. The negative to this decision is that if the driver quits or is not able to continue in training (General Safety Course), he or she will have a driver license, but may not be safe. It is a lot easier to pass the State exam than it is to drive safely in every changing traffic conditions.

If a driver opts for the General Safety Course, which is a focus on driving in traffic, and the driver quits or is not able to continue in training, there is a chance the driver will be reasonably safe in traffic but not pass the State driving exam. Some of the State exam has nothing to do with driving in traffic the degree to which is subject greatly to where the State exam is taken. There are a lot of variables.

Do you want your daughter enrolled in Pass the State Driving Exam ONLY Course or the General Safety Course?

Sometimes the answer to that question is "both". In those instances since we cannot do both at one time we enroll the driver in the Pass the State Exam ONLY Course and move the driver into the General Safety Course when the driver has only the minimum skills need to pass the State exam at is it typically given; that is, unless otherwise directed.

We are here to serve you in accord with your wishes. However, Mr. Collins need a clear understanding of how you want your daughter's time and your money invested in this important endeavor. If he knows what you want her to do, is really good a doing it. Thank you for carefully considering the following question:

Does your daughter want to be enrolled in Pass the State Driving Exam ONLY Course or the General Safety Course?

COURSE #3
Pass the Florida State Driving Exam
(only) Training

LIST OF BEHIND-THE-WHEEL COURSES. There may be a lot of space between Course clarifications. This column will conclude with the words, "THE END"

Remove points from your driving record and the Drug and Alcohol Course.

The on line courses that follow are not part of our services. We simply recommend these sites as excellent places to secure your on-line training. Click on the appropriate icon. They are easy to navigate and easy to understand the step by step directions.

To remove points from your record, click on either one of the I DRIVE SAFELY icons below and follow the step by step directions.

PRE-DRIVING COURSES

I (Joda Collins) strongly suggest taking the time to read all available Courses on this Menu BEFORE selecting one. After you do that you will discover the reasons why. If you have questions about this Menu, just ask. The best action is to enroll Student-driver in Course 1, then 2, then 3, then 4, then 5. The best (most skilled) is also the most time consuming, therefore the most expensive. (It always is).

MENU OF AVAILABLE COURSES. PLEASE SELECT ONLY ONE (at a time).

COURSE #1
Rules of the Road Course

850 981-3355

COURSE #2
Basic Vehicle Control Course

Variable Skills Course/Training

In the Variable Skills Course you tell us what skill level you desire and we tell you, after the first lesson, how many more lessons it will take to reach that driving skill level. Just fill in the blanks below:

1. At what driving speed do you want the driver reasonably safe? Note any speed between 15mph and 70mph. _____

2. In what speed zones do you want the driver reasonably safe?

Note one: 15mph zones only.

Up to 30mph zones (residential) only.

Up to 35mph zones (city) only.

Up to 45mph zones only.

Up to 55mph zones only or

In all speed zones including Interstate .

3. Among what drivers do you want the driver reasonably safe?

List one: Excellent Drivers Only.

Good and Excellent Drivers Only.

All Drivers including Crash Prone Drivers.

4. In what weather conditions do you want the driver reasonable safe?

List one: Good Weather Only.

Good Weather and Mildly Adverse Weather (some wind/rain).

All weather including adverse weather (lots of wind and rain).

5. In what traffic conditions do you want the driver reasonably safe? List one: Mild Traffic Only.

Mild and Moderate Traffic Only.

All traffic conditions including congested traffic conditions.

6. In what driving environments do you want driver reasonably safe? List one: Memorized areas only.

Memorized and well-known areas only.

All areas including driving areas that are completely new to the driver.

7. At what times do you want the driver reasonably safe?

List one: Daylight hours only

At all times, including daylight and dark.

Charge: Check your Contract for specific services and related fees.

Duration: There are too many variables to provide this estimate.

Prerequisite Course: None

INTERNET TRAINING

REAL EMAILS

Dear Friends,
I am a man of my word. I read what I sign before I sign it. I assume responsibility for my actions.

These are real emails sent to clients. I provide them so future clients and drivers do not have to receive any email like these and, hopefully, I will not have to write any more like these.

I have enjoyed a positive working relationship with 99% of those I have served.

I have had a strained working relationship with about 1% of those I have served and worked with. One-hundred percent of those that I have had a strained working relationship with had three things in common.

1. They did not read the working agreement well.
2. They did not keep their word.
3. They did not assume responsibility for their actions.

If you are not willing to read the Working Agreement carefully, are not willing to keep your word and/or are not a person that assumes responsibility for your actions, please do not employ me. It won't end well because I will hold you responsible for your word, that is, for what you sign.

If you will read the Working Agreement carefully, keep your word and assume responsibility for your actions --WELCOME, WELCOME. I look forward to working for you and with you.

Just for fun, when reading the emails below, try to identify which of the three failures in each case caused the difficulties.

REAL EMAIL #1
Mr. Collins,
My son will have to cancel his training for now because he does not have the time to do the mandatory reading from the driving Workbook.

My Response: As noted in the signed Guarantee and as I pointed out verbally, reading the Workbook is not mandatory in order to take behind-the-wheel training.

REAL EMAIL #2 - My Response Only:
Dear Mr. Smith (not real name),
You brought up several negative concerns you have about what I am doing and what I expected of you. Every point you brought up is clearly clarified in the one-page Working Agreement that you signed the day before yesterday. Your concerns tell me that you did not read that one page summary of the Contact. Please read your copy. Let me know, after reading your copy, if you have any lingering concerns. If you want to change something in the Working Agreement, just ask. I am easy to work with. I just need to know what you want me to consider changing. The only thing I will not consider changing are my charges.

REAL EMAIL #3 - My Response Only:
Dear Mrs. Jones (not real name),
I, too, am concerned about your Son's extremely low progress in driver's training. Your implication that his slow progress is my fault is without merit.
You are highly motivated for him to learn to drive, but he is not even slightly motivated to learn to drive. He is taking lessons because you are paying for them and forcing him take driver's training. He made it clear to me in your presence before you and he signed the working agreement and before you paid me any money that he did not want to take driver's training and that he would not work at it. I made it plain to you at that time that I felt paying for driver's training would be a waste of your money.
He tells me that he has an abundance of family and friends who drive him anywhere he wants to go anytime he wants to go for FREE. He tells me that once he gets his license, he is going to have to pay for his own car, gas, car payments and insurance and those things will necessitate him getting a job. He does not want a job. He does NOT want to get his license. Therefore, he does not want to learn to drive. If I had people to drive me anywhere I wanted to go, anytime I wanted to go at their expense and if I could live well without working, I (also) would not be motivated to learn to drive, get a license and assume the expense of car payments, insurance and fuel. Who would?

I am happy to continue teaching him to the best of my ability, but I cannot assume responsibility for his lack of interest. It is very hard to teach a person who wants to fail at learning. That is true for everyone. You might want to reconsider enrolling him in training at this time. If and when he loses his free and convenient rides, he will be interested in learning to drive. Permit me to once again state that I think you are wasting your money to pay for him to be in driver's training. He is not learning because he does not want to and that has nothing to do with me.

REAL EMAIL #4
Mr. Collins,
Do I have to do everything listed in order to have the full money back Guarantee for the five lessons? It seems like a lot to do.

Dear Mrs. Confused About the Guarantee:

I do not offer a money back guarantee on lessons already started or completed any more than your local gas station will refund your previous gas purchase price after your fuel gauge reads "Empty" or your favorite restaurant will refund your money for five meals after you eat those five meals. I do offer a money back guarantee for funds paid in advance for any and every lesson if the request is made with at least a two-hour notice before the start time of the lesson. May I ask you where you think you read that I offer a refund of money for lessons already completed?

Footnote: The Client wrote back stating, "I just assumed I could get a full refund for all completed training if I did not like the way my son drove when the five lessons were over." I wrote back, "Please evaluate your son's progress after every lesson and only continue training if the progress meets your expectations."

REAL EMAIL #5
Mr. Collins,
Why did you send the Evaluations/Progress Reports to my mother? I am your adult student and I am the one you should be sending the reports to.
Why did I have to pay $630 just to learn to pass the State Driving Exam?
I never liked or agreed with your contract.

Dear Ms. Disgruntled:
I asked you where you wanted all email correspondence sent, including your Evaluations/Progress reports. In response to that question, you provided me with your email address and your mother's email address. That is why she received emails from us.
You enrolled in the Defensive Driving Course because you said you wanted to learn to be a good driver not just pass the State driving exam. If you only wanted to learn enough to pass the State exam at a minimum skill level, you should have enrolled in the Pass the State Exam ONLY, Course; which was offered to you and suggested by me. You declined it stating you wanted to be enrolled in the Defensive Driving Course and signed the necessary paperwork for your enrollment in the Defensive Driving Course.
Why did you sign the Contract if you did not like it or agree with it? The Contract states that I am open to considering changing anything except my prices, if asked to do so. Why didn't you talk to me about things in the Contract you wanted to change before you were taught the 35 driving skills in the Defensive Driving Course?

REAL EMAIL #6
Dear Mr. Collins,
My Son came away from the lesson believing he drove well until his evaluation was received with a long list of things yet to learn.

My Response:

I complimented him on his progress for lesson one. I regret that he considered that compliment a statement that he has little or nothing left to learn about defensive driving.

REAL EMAIL #7

Do you provide instruction to student-drivers in real-time (during the lesson) or is the method of providing an email evaluation after the lesson the only method or training we should expect in the future?

My Response:

Your son received a full lesson of verbal instructions about safe and legal driving skills in addition to many of the rules of the road clarified. The additional written training / information we sent via email is in addition to the over-the-road training. Below is a full list of the specific driving skills and rules of the road instructions he received from me during his 75-minute driver's training. Did he not tell you of any of them? Did he not hear them?

REAL EMAIL #8 - My Response Only.
Dear Mrs. Davis (not correct name),
At the end of the previous lesson I asked your son if he wanted to memorize the steps for entering a parking space on his own time for free before the start of the next lesson or learn them at the per minute charge during the next lesson. He said and I quote: "I want to memorize the steps for entering a parking space on my own time so my mom does not have to pay for the time it takes me to do that during a training lesson." At the start of today's lesson I said, "Did you get a chance to memorize the steps for entering a parking space." If he was upset at me for asking that, he did not show it. if he expressed to you that question upset him, my only response is,
why was he upset with me for asking that? He was able to memorize the steps in about 15-minutes during training. I do not see what the problem is.

REAL EMAIL #9
Ms. Carmela
Why did you have me write, "No refund for completed lessons," on my check? What is that about? What if I am not happy with the training and want all of my money back?

Dear Ms. Refund (not real name),
At the start of your first lesson, you asked me about my refund policy. I read it to you word-for-word from the one-page Contract you signed. That statement included, "There are no refunds for completed lessons." I got the impression you were not listening well and/or did not understand, so I took a couple of minutes and restated it in expanded form with specific emphasis on the sentence, "There are no refunds for completed lessons." Still, it seemed to me that you were not listening and/or did not understand. I asked if you had any questions? You did not respond. So, I asked you to write on your check, "No refund for completed lessons." You did so. You signed a Contact that stated, "No refunds for completed lessons." I explained that sentence in great detail to you twice before the lesson started. I asked you to write that statement on your check. You did. Now, you state you want me to guarantee you a full refund of all lessons upon such a mandate. There are no refunds for completed service. If you do not accept that fact, then it would be best not to continue training.

REAL EMAIL #10
Why did you accuse my son of being and angry person?
My Response:
I did not accuse your son of anything. I do not know if he is an angry person all of the time. I did not say he was an angry person. I told him it was not wise drive angry. There is a difference. I do know he was angry for most of the driving session.

When I instructed your son to drive within the speed limit, he became noticeably angry at me and told me that he would have to continue to exceed the speed limit because "people were tailgating him and forcing him to drive beyond the speed limit." When I instructed your son not to enter turns so fast and not to brake abruptly in turns, he got mad at me and told me he was required to drive fast because does not like to stay in intersections any longer than necessary since intersections are dangerous and driving fast through them, even in turns is safer. When traffic was slow in front of him, he got mad at the drivers ahead of him and began to curse them. I will not repeat here the foul language he used. When traffic lights turned red and he was required to stop, he got angry at the traffic light. He was angry about something almost all of the time.

REAL EMAIL #11

Mr. Collins,

My wife is just about finished with her four lessons. She has kept her homework current and will through lesson four. When do I get my 50% rebate?

Mr. Doe,

The paperwork you signed states that "student-drivers who do the homework completely and faithfully usually progress about twice as fast through drivers training and therefore at about half the expense of the expense compared to drivers who do not do any homework." The Agreement does not state that drivers who keep their homework current get a 50% rebate. I do not refund any money for completed lessons nor refund 50% of the tuition to drivers who progress faster and at less expense through training because of the FREE self study material I provide.

PostScript: Dear Friend, Do you see why we do not have nor honor any verbal agreements, ever!? In addition, some people struggle greatly with understanding words even when they are written clearly. Some people are just manipulators. In any case, imagine if we were held hostage by anything that followed, "But you said...." or "But I thought those words on paper meant something else..." Those who get confused by written and/or verbal words no matter how well said or written, and those who manipulate for self-gain (con-artists) would put us out of business in six months.

MAJOR FACTS

Goal: Driver opts to learn the rules of the road, the meaning of pavement markings, and signs and signals by Mr. Collins driving around and having Mr. Collins point out these things and explain them during paid driving time. If the student-driver has done his or her best to understand the basic rules of the road, meaning of pavement markings, and signs and signals before entering is Course less time and money will be invested in this over-the-road training.

Course Duration: The average for all drivers of all ages, all motivation levels, all educational levels and all levels of ability is one to three lessons or the training ends when the driver feels he or she knows as much about the rules of the road, etc. as he or she desires.

FREE: Written materials that explain the rules of the road, etc are provided FREE upon request.

Charge: $126 to $156 per 75-minute lesson depending on earned rebates and/or discounts.

Goal: Just drive around with the hope of learning by driving without instruction. We call this the Osmosis Course.

Some people believe that improving as a driver is solely the result of just driving around until safe driving skills come to or dawn on the driver. We no longer try to convince people that there is no such thing. So, we have created a Course for them.

Course Duration: There are too many variables to provide this estimate.

Graduation Requirements: None
The date is June 13, 2015. It is 2:30pm. After eight years in this business and after training almost 1,100 people, it dawned on me today that I have failed to offer an often asked for Course. There are a lot of people who think learning to drive safely is the result of time behind-the-wheel only. That, somehow, if they spend enough hours behind-the-wheel that they become safe drivers.

These folks do not want my training or to hear my instructions. One teenager expressed this Course succinctly. She told me to "Shut up and let me drive!" All she wanted is to drive around and have me deliver her from crashing to the best of my ability if it was needed to do so. I have lost a lot of business over the years by turning these drivers away. I will not do that any more.

This Course is for drivers who only want to drive around and teach themselves. It costs one-third more because the driver is always dangerous behind-the-wheel and will not progress much or fast. The safety level will remain much the same (no significant improvement), so I charge more to be in excessive danger all of the time. In addition, due the high probability of crashing, student-drivers must use their own insured or the Client's insured vehicle for all of this training and sign a waiver of all liability thus assuming all liability for the training.

Here is how it works. The student-driver drives around aimlessly (no pattern) until driver does not want to drive around any more. No instruction is provided.

Charge: The charge is one-third more due to the excessive and maintained danger level. There are no discounts for this Course since the danger level starts and stays high.

I reserve the right to decline service if the danger level is too frightening.

Traffic Law and Substance Abuse and Education

Drug and Alcohol Course
Required to secure driver's permit.

Go to or click on:
http://teen.idrivesafely.com/Florida/?COUPON=J0DADA

Goal: Good control of steering, brakes and accelerator in non-traffic conditions at speeds of up to 25mph. (General Safety Score of no less than 90 points.) Since poor steering is the number one cause of crashes in driver's training vehicles, an emphasis is placed on proper hand-over-hand steering and allowing the wheel to slide through a driver's hands to complete standard right and left turns.

Charge: $126 to $156 per 75-minute lesson depending on earned rebates and/or discounts.

COURSE #3

SPECIALTY COURSE

Goal

Client gives me one (or two, at the most) driving skill to concentrate on during a lesson and I do so, and ignore all other distractions (driving needs/flaws) while doing my best to keep driver out of any driving environment where is or her driving flaws would put us in undue danger.

Course Duration: Until Client stops the training.

Charge: As clarified in Contract Six and Attachment One found at www.jodacollins.com , Agreement page.

All Pre-driving study is from books and/or viewing training material on the internet. Every Pre-driving Course is FREE to anyone, including the training material. However, all of this training can be accomplished behind-the-wheel if a client is willing to pay for pre-driving training provided during behind-the-wheel training.

All Course study material is found in one book.

Click on: http://www.lulu.com/shop/joda-collins/book-1-foundations-for-safedefensive-driving/paperback/product-20250325.html

Course 1
Introduction to Safe-Defensive Driving

Course 2
Driving Skills Memory Work

Course 3
Pass the State Written Exam ONLY, Part One.

Course 4
Pass the State Driving Exam ONLY

Course 5
On-Line Video Defensive Driving Courses

Course 6
Fundamentals of Defensive Driving

Course 7
Rules of the Road
(This Course can be taught behind-the-wheel or from printed material.)

Welcome to

JODA COLLINS

DRIVING ACADEMY LLC

Behind-the-Wheel Training

Serving Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa Counties since 2008!

The Osmosis Course.

(Just Drive Around)

Goal: Pass the State Driving Exam ONLY and delete from training all safe-driving skills that are not required to pass the State driving exam. The State diving exam is different at every driver license office and often changes due to current fears surrounding Covid19 and its variants. Tell me what driver license office you are using for your exam and I will tell you the current requirements of that driver license office.

Course Duration: After the first lesson I can usually give you a reasonably accurate estimate of how many more lessons, if any, you will need to pass the State driver license exam at your selected driver license office. The average for all drivers of all ages, all motivation levels, all educational levels and all levels of ability is one to three lessons or the training ends when the driver feels he or she knows as much about the rules of the road, etc. as he or she desires. This estimate assumes driver can already pass the Basic Vehicle Control Course.

Charge: Check your Contract for specific services and related fees.

COURSE 4
GENERAL SAFETY COURSE
Level One, Two and Three
Teaches 12 General Safety Skills that permit the driver to be reasonably safe among other reasonably safe drivers. A reasonably safe driver is one that keeps the rules of the road.

Course Duration: After the first lesson I can usually give you a reasonably accurate estimate of how many more lessons, if any, you will need to pass the State driver license exam at your selected driver license office. The average for all drivers of all ages, all motivation levels, all educational levels and all levels of ability is three to five lessons for Level One, four to six lessons for Level Two, seven to eight lessons for Level Three or the training ends when the driver feels he or she knows as much about the rules of the road, etc. as he or she desires. This estimate assumes driver can already pass the Basic Vehicle Control Course and the Rules of the Road Course.

Charge: Check your Contract for specific services and related fees.

Prerequisite Course: Course #2, Basic Vehicle Control Course.

COURSE 5
DEFENSIVE DRIVING COURSE

Level One, Level Two and Level Three
Teaches 23 Defensive Driving Techniques which permits the driver to be reasonably safe among all drivers including those who are crash prone drivers. A crash prone driver is defined as a driver who does not keep nor honor the rules of the road.

Charge: Check your Contract for specific services and related fees.

Prerequisite Course: Course #2, Basic Vehicle Control Course and Course #4, General Safety Course.

TIME ONLY COURSE
Some insurance companies require only X number of minutes or hours of behind-the-wheel instruction to qualify for their insurance discount. You find out from your insurance company what they require and we create a time only course to comply. Our minimum time only course is 15-minutes of behind the wheel training. You must tell us what you want taught. If the time runs out before we complete the teaching of the skill or skills you want taught, we will stop the training at the time limit your insurance company specified. If you do not or do not want to provide the training you want taught, we will teach safe lane changes. In most cases we can teach safe lane changes in 15- minutes. Most students can learn the lane-change procedure in 15 to 30-minutes.

Charge: Check your Contract for specific services and related fees.

Prerequisite Course: None

In all the Courses above, unless otherwise directed, Mr. Collins trains the driver in the skills in the order that he (Joda Collins) selects. If one of the above Course is not selected by the Client then Mr. Collins DOES not select the skill or skills for each lesson. That decision is the responsibility of the Client alone. There are good reasons for this which he will share upon request.

CLIENT'S CHOICE COURSE
In this Course the Client tells Mr. Collins before the start of each lesson what driving skills the Client wants the Student-driver to receive training for/in. Mr. Collins may make suggestions or recommendations but he will not impose his suggestions on the Client or Student-driver unless the request poses unusually danger to the Student-driver. For example, if a Student-driver is not able to keep the vehicle in his lane at speeds in excess of 25mph and the Client asks Mr. Collins to teach the Student-driver to drive on the Interstate, that request will be denied because attempting that is too dangerous.

Charge: Check your Contract for specific services and related fees.

Duration: There are too may variables to give this estimate.

Prerequisite Course: None

STUDENT-DRIVERS CHOICE

When there is not an agreement between the Client (financially responsible adult) and the Student-driver about what Course of training to take, in most cases, Student-drivers never graduate a Course of Study that is more difficult than the Student-driver is motivated to graduate; rather, such student-drivers give about 20% to 25% of their energy and effort to task. This increases the time it takes for the driver to graduate the Course by four of five times the time and four or five times the financial investment. In the instances, where the Client does not want to invest four or five times the money, it is allow the Student-driver to select the Course of Study. The Student-driver selects any Course of Study and informs the Client, and the Client informs Mr. Collins and/or the Joda Collins Driving Academy of the Student-drivers Course of Study and the Client adopts that Course of Study as the Client's choice. Why? Because it is really hard to teach a Student-driver things the Student-driver does not want to learn. Hint: More than 70% of teenage student drivers with a permit only want to learn to drive well-enough to pass their State Driving Exam but will say they want to be a safe-driver and/or a defensive driver because they are embarassed to admit they are not really interested in becoming a safe or defensive driver but only interested in getting their driver license.

Duration: There are too may variables to give this estimate.

NEEDS ONLY COURSE

Mr. Collins make a list of the (1) poor driving habits the driver has that need to be changed and the good driving skills that need to replace his or her poor driving habits, (2) the traffic laws the driver is violating on a regular basis, (3) the driving skills and techniques the driver needs to develop in order to become a safe and/or defensive driver. Little to no training is provided. That list is given to the Client for the Client for someone else to do the in-car/behind the wheel training. The amount of driving time varies however, usually two or three lessons are all that is needed.

Charge: Check your Contract for specific services and related fees.

Prerequisite Course: None

Duration: There are too may variables to give this estimate.

EMERGENCY SKILLS

Emergency Procedures taught if requested. While emergency skills are not part of any driving Course, any Client can add them to a drivers list of skills to be taught or select this Course only to for the Student-driver. The reason why I (Joda Collins) do not teach these skills without permission is it takes quite a bit of time to teach all of these skills. More than one Client expressed concern over the expense (time it took) to teach all of these skills, so I removed them from any other course and teach them only if requested.
A. Driving off road by mistake or plan.
B. Tire blow-out
C. Skid recovery
D. Emergency braking in car with and/or without anti-lock brakes.
E. How to handle warning lights on dash board.
F. How to deal with brake failure.
G. How to deal with sudden loss of headlights.

Charge: Check your Contract for specific services and related fees.

Duration: There are too may variables to give this estimate.

Prerequisite Course: None

COMFORT CLASS

com·fort·a·ble
     /ˈkəmfərdəb(ə)l/
     adjective
          1.a feeling of physical ease and relaxation.

We do not offer a Comfort Class. This is too subjective a goal to measure because comfort is a physical feeling and we do not have a physical feeling class. Often the drivers that feel the most comfortable are drivers are those that are oblivious to the dangers of driving. Sometimes, no matter how skilled we make a driver, said driver is never comfortable while driving for one or more reasons that has noting to do with us. Learning safe driving skills will make a driver safer but often make a driver less comfortable behind the wheel, as applying driving skills on a constant basis in ever-changing traffic conditions is not conducive to comfort although it is conducive to safety. Some drivers find comfort in becoming a safe-driver in every changing traffic conditions, while other drivers find attempting to apply safe-driving skills in every changing traffic conditions a bit nerve-racking and less than comfortable.

Words can be tricky. We really do not have a driving course designed to make a driver comfortable. What most people mean by "comfortable" is "confident". Driving skill makes a driver more confident, is not guaranteed to provide a condition of physical ease and relaxation.

The only reason we mention this is because we have had several students who enrolled thinking they would find comfort in drivers training who became better-skilled (safer drivers) but after learning the things needed to drive crash free among safe drivers came to the awareness of how dangerous driving can be and how one mistake can cost much or everything; that knowledge made them uncomfortable, thus deemed the driver's training a failure. Also, I have had drivers that were very comfortable behind-the-wheel, but quit training long before they were safe. Said drivers and some of their parents blamed me for their poor driving on the basis said persons became comfortable before they became good drivers.

It is important to make the distinction between a comfortable driver and a skilled-confident driver.

Again, most people mean "confident-skilled" not "comfortable". If that is what you and your son are seeking, then the General Safety Course is the right choice as it focuses on driving skill with the hopes that a confident driver will find comfort in knowing he or she is a safer driver. Unless otherwise informed we will assume the goal is a skilled/safe driver with the hopes that becoming a skilled-safe driver will provide to the driver a sense of ease and comfort.

Charge: Check your Contract for specific services and related fees.

Duration: There are too may variables to give this estimate.

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