Coronavirus News: Long Island teen petitions Cuomo to allow students to finish driver's ed online

EAST ISLIP, Long Island (WABC) -- A teenager on Long Island launched a petition on change.org asking New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to allow student drivers to complete driver's education online.

East Islip 10th grader Dylan Baranek said he was so eager to drive that he went right to the DMV on his 16th birthday back in December.

"I went and got my permit that day and signed up for driver's ed that night," Dylan said. "I was like, I'm gonna have everything done, I'll be able to get my license on time, everything will be done, in advance."

But then the coronavirus outbreak happened and the resulting restrictions canceled all driver's ed classes and road tests.

Parents in New York can certify that their child has completed 50 hours of driving needed for a road test.

Dylan said it's the five hours of required classroom instruction that's at issue.

"We were roughly at around 60% and New York State said you have to be at 75% to finish it online," Dylan said.

Not allowing students to finish the classroom portion online has led to a large backlog of both classes and road tests.

The state has not said when the DMV will reopen or how it will handle the logjam once it is.

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