A local driver’s education agency, which frequently teaches international students how to drive, recently received a fleet upgrade.
North Central Florida Safety Council, a nonprofit commercial driving program located at 3710 NW 51st St., had been operating with just one vehicle.
Edwin Gardner, a driver’s training instructor at the program, said he was worried when the old car started having problems. With the constant parking, three-point turns and heavy braking, he said the damage to the vehicle can get expensive.
“The last thing to go out on the car was the turn signals,” Gardner said. “That’s when we realized we need a new vehicle soon.”
But to solve the woes, the driving program received a 2013 Chevy Impala to use for lessons, said Jeff Sims, the program’s executive director.
He said the new vehicle was necessary to continue offering driver’s ed to local students.
“There are many international students that move to Gainesville for school,” he said, “and they don’t have much family or friends, or in some cases, many places to practice driving — so they come to us.”
Gardner said he teaches about five students a week. While the majority of his students is college-aged, he said half a dozen professors during the past two months have come to him. One was from Russia.
In one incident, Gardner said, he taught an international student who had never before been in a car.
“I have learned so much over the years,” he said. “The variety of students are from all over the place.”
Jorge Gomez, a 20-year-old UF business administration junior, said the importance of learning how to drive when coming to a new country is essential.
“When I came to this country, I knew how to drive, but many people don’t,” he said. “It’s important to learn the rules of the road.”
A version of this story ran on page 5 on 9/3/2013 under the headline "Driver’s education group teaches international students, expands"
