Joe Barch sat calmly in the passenger seat of his 2016 Ford Fusion, marked “student driver” in bold lettering backed by yellow highlighter on the bumper.“What are you forgetting?” he asked Hagan Smith a 16-year-old junior from Charlotte who was.
As Vermont public schools cut back on driver education, families are switching to private programs. But young would-be drivers who cannot afford to do that are waiting longer than usual to get their licenses.