Tennessee now allowing teens to take the written portion of their drivers test at home

Jackson, TN. (WNBJ)-

For teenagers, getting a driver's license is an exciting time, now the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security are making the process of obtaining our license a little more convenient. Wes Moster (Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Communications Director) stated, “we’re really trying to change the culture and the mindset. You don’t have to physically come into the drivers center for everything. A lot of these things now can be taken care of through modern technology.”

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security launched a new online service, "at-home knowledge testing," that went live on their website yesterday. Teens between the ages of 15 to 17 years old will now be able to take the written portion of their drivers test online. Wes Moster with The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security says the test will be administered by a legal guardian. Wes Moster (Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Communications Director) explained, “the parent or legal guardian will be the one proctoring the exam, or they’ll be the on administering the exam. What they’ll do. They’ll download the app first enter their information, then the teenager will be the one taking the exam.”

Teenagers account for 500,000 car crashes annually, and many question how the department will ensure teens will actually learn the rules of the road and not cheat during their knowledge exam. Wes Moster (Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Communications Director) told 39 news, “we’ve done several things I should say to kind of combat that. Midway through the exam, the person who is giving the exam has to reauthenticate that there are still there. If they do not it’s a automatic failure. They are not able to navigate away from the screen that they start the exam on. They can’t have multiple screens open. If they do it’s an automatic failure.”

Teens will still have the option to take their knowledge exam at a drivers center untimed. For those who choose to take their exam online they will have 60 minutes to answer 30 questions and will have 2 attempts to pass the exam with at least an 80 percent. The test can be located on the tn.gov under the drivers services tab.

Makayla Davis

mdavis@nbc39tv.com