Lee County Tax Collector to add more sites for road tests amid high demand for driver licenses
Need to book a road test for your kiddo?
Or maybe for yourself?
It's not so easy to do in Lee County.
Appointments for driver tests have been hard to come by for more than a year now, but that's about to change.
Two new locations have been approved at Lee County Tax Collector offices in Bonita Springs and Cape Coral.
That will double the number of places – and appointments – for taking behind-the-wheel tests to obtain a Florida driver license.
The additional testing sites are expected to open by mid-June, with road test examiners in training for them now.
The new sites will be at:
Bonita Springs: 25987 Tamiami Trail S., Suite 112
Cape Coral: 1039 SE Ninth Ave.
"We will be opening up those appointments very soon," said Lee County Tax Collector Noelle Branning. "We just want to make sure we have everything ready to go."
Earlier: Road test exams for new drivers in high demand at Lee County Tax Collector's Office
Related: Florida Department of Highway Safety announces first redesign of FGCU specialty license plate
New locations will 'address the need'
Efforts to expand the services started last fall to meet the growing demand, which is driven by a growing population, she said.
"We think we are really going to address the need," Branning said.
Appointments are required for road tests, and they're offered on a "60-day rolling basis" in the county. That means if you want an appointment in July, you should book it now.
Yet, if you go online to book an appointment, you'll find all the slots greyed out, months out, with none available.
A call to the tax collector's office will often get you the same result, unless there happens to be a cancelation. With an apology, you'll likely hear something like this: "As of now we are completely booked. Sorry."
The current testing sites are at tax collector offices in South Fort Myers and North Fort Myers.
The county can't just add more sites when the need arises, and the process takes time, with approval needed from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Branning explained.
"It's not discretionary for us," she said.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety must review test sites to ensure they're suitable.
"Some of our facilities simply do not have the ability to accommodate a road test. Based on the parking availability," Branning noted.
Also, there's the matter of meeting all the requirements for a qualifying road course.
"Road tests require certain elements to complete ... and we have to show if the location that we are proposing would be able to satisfy all the elements of the tests," Branning said.
Appointment booking system to be improved
The tax collector's office is also working with its vendor to improve its online booking system, so if there are cancellations, it can offer up those appointments to others, said Lauren Bernaldo, the agency's chief communications officer.
Given the high demand for tests, she encouraged those who can't make their appointments to let the office know as a courtesy, so others can take their place.
In Lee, road tests aren't restricted to residents and property owners only, as they are in some Florida counties. That too can create more demand.
The county temporarily restricted tests to county residents after the start of the COVID pandemic, but it has no plans to do it now, Branning said.
During the pandemic, Collier County also quit offering road tests to outsiders, then decided to stick with the policy.
"We did see residents from other counties in the past. We went to Collier-only around the beginning of the COVID outbreak. We were being inundated with out-of-county test requests, leading us to not be able to serve Collier residents in a proper manner. Therefore, we only test Collier residents and property owners," said Collier County Tax Collector Rob Stoneburner in an email.
Private driving schools see high demand
Frustrated and eager to get their license, some teens and adults in Lee County have turned to private schools for a road test. Doing so is a bit more costly – and there can still be a months-long wait, through some providers.
In Bonita Springs, the Bonita Safety Institute offers tests at a cost of $120, but its first available appointment isn't until mid-August.
If the test is taken through the Tax Collector's Office, the charge is only $6.25 (for the first attempt).
Some drivers are trekking to other counties to do their exam (with family or friends in tow since they can't yet drive on their own).
Brad Ault, president of Ault's Driving Center in Englewood, said he sees many customers from Lee County.
The school has multiple road test sites. The closest one to Fort Myers is in Punta Gorda.
Appointments are offered up on a weekly basis, starting every Monday, to give everyone a fair chance at getting one, Ault said.
The company primarily serves drivers from Tampa to South Fort Myers, but it has seen people come in from as far away as Miami and the Keys, at times, Ault said.
The cost is $95 for a driving test, for those with their own car. It's an extra $30 to use one of the school's vehicles.
Appointments are available every day of the week, except Sunday.
"We fill up every week," Ault said. "We're busy."
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Lee County Tax Collector to double road-testing sites for new drivers
