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Home > Archive > Mar 13, 2008

Back in the Driver's (Ed.) Seat
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
After an absence of more than two years, a longtime local driving instructor is gearing up once again to educate Southern Utah's students in the matters of yielding, turning and the ever-dreaded parallel parking.
“I'm back in the saddle. Retirement and I don't agree very well,” Dixie Driving School owner and instructor Bob Sears said.
In the business of turning teenagers and pedestrians into ace vehicle operators, Sears and his Dixie Driving School have had a presence in Southern Utah since 1993.
After more than 30 total years in the driver instruction business (he owned three driving schools in Washington state before moving to Utah), Sears sold Dixie Driving School (now called Southern Utah Driving School by its current owner) in 2005 to pursue other interests. But the clamoring of past customers and a desire to get back in the driver's seat have prompted Sears to once again throw his hat (and car keys) into the ring.
“I had so much demand to get back in business that here we are,” he said.
Reclaiming its old name, Dixie Driving School officially reopened its doors – although in a new location – on March 1, and Sears is now taking students for his first new session of classes. And students who train at Dixie Driving School aren't just learning the mechanics of how to drive.
“We're in the business of saving lives. That's number one,” Sears said.
An overarching focus at Dixie Driving School is safety, especially when it comes to the teenage drivers who make up the majority of Sears' student body. Teens represent a small percentage of drivers on the road, he said, but they are responsible for more than half of the car accidents that result in death or injury, so part of his mission as a driving instructor is to prevent poor vehicle-operation habits before they're formed. He also strives to instill in his students the importance of safety-mindedness and good conduct on the road.
“We know we have a problem with the kids – it's a serious problem, and we work with that with driver's ed,” Sears said.
One-on-one classroom time is a big component of the school's curriculum, to ensure that students fully understand the ins and outs of safety matters and proper protocol behind the wheel. In-car learning and lesson application are also big at Dixie Driving School – no simulators here.
“There's no substitute, in my opinion, for on-the-road instruction with an instructor,” Sears said.
Coursework at Dixie Driving School consists of three total weeks of instruction, with 18 hours of in-class learning, six hours behind the wheel and six hours of in-car observation, and once a principle has been taught in the classroom, Sears takes his students out on the road that same day to apply what they've learned and increase their retention of the knowledge.
All the classroom time required at Dixie Driving School isn't mandated by the state for students to complete driver's training. There is, in fact, a state-approved, take-home driver's education course offered elsewhere that allows students to learn at home from workbooks and then come in for testing. That isn't the best route to take, however, Sears said, especially where young, inexperienced drivers are concerned.
“It's quick and easy, but it doesn't do the job, in my opinion,” he said.
He said going slow with in-class, face-to-face instruction is the best way to ensure that students understand the weight of their behind-the-wheel decisions, and learning that way makes for better lifetime drivers out on the road.
“Over the years, you learn what's risky and what isn't,” Sears said. “We start out slow and then progress.”
Classroom time is very structured, he said, but he and his students have fun and share many laughs as they learn. He said he loves to see the lights go on (not hazard lights, in this case) as his pupils gain new knowledge about driving and as they master driving skills. He also relishes in breaking bad-conduct conceptions, such as the notion that driving five or 10 miles over the speed limit is acceptable.
“I would like to have a dime – not a dollar, just a dime – for every time I’ve heard one of my kids say,  'But Dad (or Mom) always told me I could get away with five or ten miles over the speed limit' ('get away with' being the operative term here),” Sears said. “We try to make the point that traffic laws are not there just to irritate you personally but are there to keep you from getting hurt or killed. Traffic laws are good things.”
As he strives to turn his local students into safe, savvy drivers, Sears is also offering courses for Spanish-speaking drivers in Southern Utah, to help them certify for driver's licenses or obtain their driving privilege cards if they are green card-holders.
Sears employs interpreters for those classes, though he does know a little Spanish himself.
“I'm from L.A., so everybody in L.A. knows a little Spanish,” he said with a smile.
During his years in the business, Sears has trained more than 50,000 drivers and has logged more than 30,000 hours of instruction time. Now back in the driver's seat again in the St. George area, he's setting to work to train his next 10,000 students.
“Classes fill fast, so advance registration is recommended,” he said.
Dixie Driving School is currently taking new students, and classes will begin when the first class is full.
Dixie Driving School is located at 168 N. 100 East, Suite 105 in St. George. To contact the school, call 674-2141 or 680-2141.

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