California DMV Introduces New Interactive ``Tutorial'' on Website

    SACRAMENTO, Calif.--April 8, 2003--The California Department of Motor Vehicles is now offering an all-new interactive "tutorial" on its Internet Website to help motorists bone up for the DMV written test, which all drivers must pass to get a state driver license.
    The tutorial is actually a randomized series of twenty to forty questions customers can bring up on their home computer screens to test their knowledge of California driver laws. Those who take the tutorial can point and click on multiple choice answers for the real-life, behind-the-wheel problems. The tutorial indicates instantaneously whether a correct answer has been selected.
    "It's colorful and it's fun," said DMV Director Steven Gourley. "The driving situations in the tutorial are real-life, so you really do need to know the rules of the road. It's a great way for anyone who hasn't taken the written test recently to measure their knowledge about traffic laws and safe driving techniques. Questions are randomly generated from ten different knowledge areas, and until proficiency is exhibited in a particular area--in other words you have to answer the questions correctly--up to four additional questions will be asked to make sure you master that particular skill area," he said.
    "That's why we call it a 'tutorial'. The process actually tutors you. But I have to tell you, nothing beats spending some quality time with the DMV Driver Handbook. All of the answers are inside."
    Gourley added the tutorial can be especially useful for parents working with teenaged provisional drivers in their family as part of a non-threatening process to instill quality driving habits and identify comprehension of California's driving laws. "It's a good learning tool," he said.
    Customers can get into the tutorial simply by going to the DMV Website at www.dmv.ca.gov. The program comes up immediately for those that have high speed Internet access. Those who don't have high speed access will have to wait 15-20 minutes for the tutorial to download, but once that process is completed, the tutorial can be used without any performance loss.
    "Even though it takes some time to download, it should improve your ability to pass the test the first time and eliminate subsequent trips to a DMV field office if you don't," said Gourley.
    The tutorial was created as part of the Department's continuing effort to make its services more accessible and customer oriented. Gourley said that on an average day, more than 2400 persons visit the text-based sample written test on the DMV Website. "We expect the tutorial to be a very popular feature when customers find out about it," he said.
    The DMV licenses drivers; maintains driving records; registers and tracks official ownership of vehicles and vessels; investigates auto and identity-related fraud; and licenses car dealers, driving schools and traffic violator schools. The Department is under the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, which is under Secretary Maria Contreras-Sweet. Additional information about DMV is on the Department's Website, which is located at www.dmv.ca.gov.