One edition of Maryland’s Rookie Driver manual, dated October 2018, told new drivers they could use a backup camera on the road test but not the car’s parking-assist feature. It had no dedicated section on work zones.
That gap is now closing. On Oct. 5, the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Administration announced an updated Maryland Rookie Driver curriculum, the first comprehensive update since 2017. It adds information on work zone safety, updated content on the technology in modern vehicles and new safety videos for classroom instruction. The agency says it built the changes with input from safety advocates and driving schools across the state, and that several schools tested the material in a pilot program earlier this year.
“We are serious about safety at the MVA, and driver education is one of our most important tools for preparing new drivers to make safe decisions behind the wheel,” said Motor Vehicle Administrator Chrissy Nizer, who is also Gov. Wes Moore’s Highway Safety Representative. The updated curriculum, she said, “gives instructors new tools and gives students information that reflects the realities they will encounter on today’s roads.”
Why work zones
The work zone lessons come with numbers behind them. In 2025, the first full year of the state’s work zone enforcement changes, Maryland recorded 1,148 work zone crashes and nine deaths, down 12 percent and 25 percent from 2024, according to Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller’s office. Those reforms followed a fatal March 2023 crash on the Baltimore Beltway that killed six construction workers. The risk has not gone away. Two MDOT workers were killed in late April 2026, according to Engineering News-Record.
The new manual was reviewed by the Maryland Highway Safety Office and checked against recommendations from Gov. Moore’s Work Zone Safety Work Group. Lt. Gov. Miller chaired that group when it was announced in April 2023.
What else changed
The MVA says the redesigned manual presents “the same safety standards and requirements as previous versions in a clearer, more accessible format,” with shorter explanations, better organization and updated information on vehicle safety features. A July 15 bulletin to driver education providers gives a closer look. It adds a work zone section, states that “palming” the steering wheel is not an acceptable steering method, expands seat belt instructions and clarifies that backup cameras “supplement, not replace” proper visual checks. It also tells schools to review the guide with instructors and update their lesson plans before teaching from it.
The plain-language approach follows Executive Order 01.01.2024.25, which created the Maryland Plain Language Initiative in July 2024. The MVA says its earlier plain-language changes contributed to a 15 percent improvement in the noncommercial learner’s permit pass rate. Those changes came with a learner’s permit exam offered in 17 languages, including American Sign Language, in early 2024.
What stays the same for Southern Maryland families
The licensing steps are unchanged. New drivers still need an MVA-approved course of 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours behind the wheel before applying for a provisional license. In the tri-county area, the College of Southern Maryland offers both parts, a virtual 30-hour classroom course and a six-hour behind-the-wheel lab, at $195 each on its listing. The MVA’s announcement does not say whether CSM or any other Southern Maryland school took part in the pilot.
The stakes are highest for the youngest drivers. Zero Deaths Maryland, the state’s highway safety program, says about 23 Marylanders ages 16 to 20 die each year while driving, and 35 percent of young-driver injury crashes happen between April and July.
The redesigned Rookie Driver’s Manual is available on the MVA’s driver’s manuals page in English and Spanish.
