In another sign of putting COVID-19 in the rearview mirror, the Maryland Department of Transportation announced that it’s going back to its pre-pandemic policy for driving tests on Tuesday.
The state’s Motor Vehicle Administration will be reopening its normal operations for driving tests on June 20.
After the agency finishes observing the Juneteenth federal holiday, drivers taking an exam will have a driving instructor sitting in the passenger seat, the agency said Friday.
Test takers will also be driving on an open road with an instructor — a shift from the pandemic-era closed-course driving that Marylanders may have gotten used to.
The state’s transportation department previously stationed instructors outside vehicles on those closed courses to test drivers.
In June 2022, MVA had agents inside passenger vehicles for all on-road testing.
“The course testing continued with the driver’s licensing agent outside the vehicle to ensure the applicant was prepared to drive on the roadway,” MVA said. “Now the examiner will be in the car during the entire on-course portion of the test.”
