Melissa Matthews, owner, Drive Home Safe School of Driving

I worked for the Missouri State Highway Patrol. I was a driver examiner/supervisor, and I resigned from the patrol in May and started doing private driving lessons. I take out anyone from teenagers to senior citizens. I have non-English speaking students. I pick (students) up at their home or wherever they choose, and return them to the destination of their choice. I try to work with them and help them to relax, because a lot of times I think they’re intimidated by the uniform (when they take their tests) and they get really nervous, and that causes them a lot of problems.

In your lessons, you cover six different areas of driving. Are they based on problems that drivers had when you were administering the tests in your previous job?

Yes. I think a lot of people don’t realize some of the things that they need to be focusing on. It seemed like, when I was doing the testing, people placed so much importance on parallel parking. A lot of them thought that that was going to be one of the most important things. That’s not true. Parallel parking alone is not enough to fail you, as long as you’re doing good traffic checks, paying attention to stop signs and traffic signals … there are just so many other things that they should be focusing on.

You mentioned working with all age groups; your services aren’t only for new drivers but also can serve as a refresher course?

Yes, and sometimes, a person will be cited in. Normally … it’s elderly people that they cite in, because maybe they’ve had an accident, or their doctor has said that they should be retested … and they have to take the driving test again in order to keep their driver’s license. We all develop bad habits over the years, but sometimes (drivers) just need a refresher course. There comes a time when some elderly people don’t need to be driving, but just because they’re getting older doesn’t mean they can’t drive. I gave a driving test to a man who was 102 a few years ago, and his driving was fine.

What are some bad habits that you commonly see across all age groups?

I would say rolling (through) stop signs and signaling – or not signaling. (Another is) not doing good traffic checks. Everybody wants to use their mirrors for everything. They don’t check their blind spots; they just depend on their mirrors when they check traffic.

How many students do you work with on average?

It’s a six-hour course, and right now I work with about four (students) a week. I’m hoping that eventually my business will build up and be more.

Are some of your students people who tried to take the driver’s test but failed?

Yes. They are supposed to tell them when they fail, but I think a lot of people don’t realize that they only get three driving tests.

What are some goals you have for your business in the next six months?

I would like to see a drastic increase in the amount of business that I have. I know that the schools do offer some sort of driver’s education, but I don’t think it’s what they offered when I was in high school, so I don’t think the kids are getting what they need. I think sometimes, it’s easier, especially for young people, to go with someone other than a parent (to practice driving). I would really like to be able to help those kids.

Tell us about the recent changes to driver’s permit laws and how you feel about it.

They changed it so that they can get their permit at 15 now, and they have to have had the permit for a full six months before they can get their driver’s license. I do think that’s a good thing, if they get to use the permit, if they get to get out there and practice. But I think there are a lot of kids who don’t get to do that.

Let’s talk about you. Tell us about your family and what you like to do.

I love to read. I don’t have a whole lot of time, because I have three children. I like to spend time with my kids. My husband is Tommy Matthews. Son Christopher is 19; Phillip is 17 and my daughter, Sydney, is 9.

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