WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. — A driving instructor with decades of experience is calling for changes to Florida’s driver's license requirements.

What You Need To Know

  • Driving instructor Steve Bowe is calling for changes to Florida’s driving test

  • Bowe says more hands-on and in-the-classroom education will make Florida’s roadways safer

  • Bowe wants a 5-6 hour required in-person course

  • Bowe also suggests adding 10 minutes to the existing 13-minute road test

“I wanna change the whole way the Florida road test is done,” said Steve Bowe, who has been teaching driver safety for more than three decades and teaching students for more than 10 years.

Bowe, a lead driving instructor for the U.S. Postal Service in New York before he moved to Florida is 2014, wrote into Traffic Inbox because he wants to make it safer for all drivers, with more education (hands-on and in the classroom) to try to reduce crashes on Florida roads.

“My proposal is to have any new driver coming in, regardless of your age, to take a one-day course, a five- or six-hour course at a driving school with a licensed instructor to give you defensive driving strategies, what you might be facing out on the road, to educate them for one day,” he said.

Right now, drivers over the age of 18 have to pass the written and driving tests, and meet some other requirements to get a driver’s license. Bowe said a longer and required in-person course would make them more prepared.

“Number two, add 10 minutes to the existing 13 minutes of the road test that's already here,” Bowe said. “Now, put the student on the street with the road test examiner.”

Bowe said a big problem for young drivers looking to get their license is they’re being tested behind the wheel on fenced-in courses or on neighborhood streets.

He wants to make sure students can safely change lanes and approach intersections on busier roads.

“I know it's a lot of work ahead of me,” Bowe said.

Bowe was put in contact with state lawmakers to see if anything can be done legislatively.

“They go home with a license and I go home with peace of mind that, you know, we taught another student here at EZ Learning and they're driving on the defensive. And that’s it,” he said.

To submit a road-related problem or a traffic solution or suggestion, fill out the Traffic Inbox form online.