04-12-2008 12:18:00
The P & M Driving School has a new home in South China by Paul Basham
Chris Choate of China started to drive when he was nine years of age. That was when he was driving tractors and h e a v y machinery across the fields of his family farm in Windsor. Now he is a d r i v i n g i n s t r u c t o r and owner of the P & M Driving School which has a new home on Route 3 in South China in a building that used to be a coffee shop.
The interior of the building has been remodeled to accommodate a classroom full of potential drivers. Chris received his training to become a driving instructor from MaryEllen Peaslee, the original owner of the P & M Driving School.
To acquire a driver’s license a person must have 30 hours of classroom instruction and ten hours of driving experience accompanied by an instructor as required by the state. Choate said, “Our focus is on teaching safety and we are one of only a few driving schools in the state that offers training in both automatic and standard shifts.”
His schedule of training is very flexible to make it fit for everyone in the class and he often picks up students at their home when it is time for them to get behind the wheel.
Because Choate works at the Post Office, he has already established trust with those who come to him for driving lessons. His wife, Kelley, does much of the paperwork and the behind-the scene details for the school.
Choate takes pride in the fact that most of his students receive their license the first time they go for a driving test and he is very grateful that there have been no major accidents or fatalities among previous students. I mentioned to Choate that he will never know how many lives he has saved by his careful attention to safety during his classroom and on the road instruction.
For further information about the P & M Driving School you
can call 445-DRIVE (3748).