Teens Can Take Learner's Permit Test Online

MIAMI (CBS4) – If your teenager is learning to drive this summer, there's good news – he or she can now take the learner's permit test online.

Last January, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles halted an online testing pilot program when it was determined that about 40 percent of the test-takers who passed the exam online failed in person.

However, a new law signed by Gov. Rick Scott brought back the online test as of last Friday.

The agency's legislative affairs administrator, Steven Fiedler, said the new testing system is improved and holds parents more accountable. If a teenager is found to have cheated, the parent's driver's license could be suspended.

Fiedler said the online testing is driven mostly by customer convenience. About 70,000 teenagers apply for the learner's permit each year.