New Laws For 16- And 17-Year-Old Drivers Effective August 1

Newtown Police Captain Joseph Rios believes a new set of laws targeted at teen drivers that go into effect August 1 will help reduce needless tragedies associated with inexperienced operators who put everyone on the road at risk.

“I believe that the legislature’s intent is to save lives via the passing of these new laws,” Capt Rios told The Newtown Bee this week.

Governor M. Jodi Rell recently signed the bipartisan legislation she spearheaded that toughens restrictions and penalties, rolls back the evening curfew for teen drivers, and provides for more on-the-road training of teen drivers.

“This legislation will save countless young lives,” Gov Rell said in a statement. “We have lost too many teens to accidents and today’s action marks a major turning point in the effort to protect our young drivers, their passengers and other drivers. Connecticut will soon have some of the strongest graduated driving licensing regulations in the country.”

Gov Rell pushed this legislation in the wake of a series of accidents in the state in which young drivers were killed, in many cases because of reckless or dangerous driving. The bill was one of the governor’s top priorities in this legislative session and it accompanies her efforts to raise awareness about dangerous driving behaviors such as racing and speeding.

Capt Rios is glad to see that education, enforcement, and training measures have been incorporated into various parts of these new laws.

“Many youths and teens are involved in risky behavior which take places at night and extends into the early morning hours,” he said. “It makes perfect sense to try to restrict their privileges on a graduated basis, which allows for the adjustment period for new/inexperienced young drivers who operate on busy roads faced with many distractions including other teen passengers.”

Details of the new legislation, which are available through the Governor’s Task Force on Teen Safe Driving, are as follows:

Passenger Restrictions –

Learner’s Permit Holders

Under the new law effective August 1, 2008, learner’s permit holders are not allowed to drive with anyone other than:

*A licensed driving instructor giving instruction; or

*One passenger giving instruction and who is at least 20 years old who has a had a driver’s license for at least four years and has not had their license suspended for the previous four years; and

*Their parents or legal guardian, at least one of whom holds a license.

*This is for the entire time the driver holds a learner’s permit.

New Driver License Holders

Note: The following restrictions will apply to all driver-license holders 16 or 17 years old, even if they received their license prior to August 1, 2008. For existing license holders, the amount of restriction time remaining will be based on the original date the license was issued.

This could mean that as of August 1, 2008, drivers who had been carrying passengers may no longer legally have them in their vehicles.

The new law doubles the length of time that passenger restrictions apply.

During the first six months, the only passengers allowed in the vehicle with a 16- or 17-year-old driver are:

*A licensed driving instructor giving instruction; or

*One passenger giving instruction and who is at least 20 years old who has had a driver’s license for at least four years and has not had the license suspended during the preceding four years; and

*The driver’s parents or legal guardian.

Between six months and a year, the only passengers allowed in the vehicle with a 16- or 17-year-old driver are:

*Anyone permitted during the first six months as well as any additional members of the driver’s immediate family.

 

Curfew for Nighttime Driving

Effective August 1, 2008, 16- or 17-year-old licensed drivers will be prohibited from driving between 11 pm and 5 am. Currently, the nighttime hours restriction is midnight to 5 am.

These restrictions do not apply to persons who are traveling for employment, school, religious activities, a medical necessity, as an assigned driver in a Safe Ride program, and as active members of a volunteer fire company or department, a volunteer ambulance service or company, or an emergency medical service organization who are responding to an emergency call or carrying out their duties as an active member.

New Suspensions For Certain Moving Violations

The following table explains the new suspension violations for 16- and 17-year-old drivers.

Effective August 1, 2008, DMV will suspend the driver’s license of a 16- or 17-year-old for any conviction of violating a teen driving restriction, otherwise know as a Graduated Driver’s License (GDL) provision. This includes a 30-day suspension for a first offense. On a second offense, the driver would receive a six-month suspension or a suspension until the driver turns 18, whichever is longer.

In addition, the new law imposes new license suspensions for drivers under the age of 18 who are convicted of speeding, reckless driving, street racing, or violating the laws that apply after licensure, otherwise known as the Graduated Driver’s Licensing (GDL) laws.

48-Hour License Suspension

For Certain Violations

Under the new law, effective August 1, 2008, 16- or 17-year-olds who commit certain moving violations will have their drivers’ licenses seized by a police officer and will be suspended for 48 hours. In addition, the police officer is authorized to remove the vehicle from the scene. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds face this immediate suspension penalty if they are cited for:

*Violating any of the driving restrictions that apply after licensure

*Driving 20 miles per hour or more above a posted speed limit

*Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs

*Driving recklessly or

*Racing a motor vehicle on a public highway

The driver’s license would be held for that 48-hour period. To regain possession of the license after the 48-hour period, the teen and their parent or legal guardian must go to the police department and sign a written statement acknowledging the license has been returned.

Parent Training Requirements

Under the new law, a parent or legal guardian of a teen who obtains a learner’s permit on or after August 1, 2008, is required to complete two hours of instruction concerning the laws governing drivers under age 18 and the dangers of teen driving. This course may be offered by a commercial or secondary driving school and will be included in the eight-hour program already required for all 16- and 17-year-olds.

Training Requirements

(Behind the Wheel)

Under the new law, 16- and 17- year-old drivers who receive a learner’s permit on or after August 1, 2008, must complete 40 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction. Currently, learner’s permit holders are required to complete 20 hours of behind-the-wheel training.

Drinking And Driving

Administrative Per Se) Penalties

Effective August 1, 2008, the administrative license suspension for a 16- or 17-year-old who drives under the influence of alcohol will be no less than one year if they submitted to the test analysis and had an elevated blood alcohol content (BAC). If the 16- or 17-year-old refuses to submit to the test, the suspension will be 18 months. Currently, the suspension period is not less than six months.

Driver Retraining

Anyone age 24 or younger who commits two or more moving violations or suspension violations must complete the DMV-certified driving retraining program. Anyone over age 24 must complete the program after three moving or suspension violations.

Effective August 1, 2008, additional offenses will trigger participation in the program. The new offenses that could lead a 16- or 17-year-old driver to take the retraining program are:

*Driving in violation of learner’s permit requirements

*Driving in violation of Graduated Driver’s License Laws (such as passenger restriction and driving curfew laws)

*Using a cellphone or other mobile electronic device outside of permitted uses. By law, drivers under 18 cannot use a cellphone or mobile electronic device, not even if it is “hands-free.”

Seat Belt Law Violations

Effective August 1, 2008, drivers 16- and 17 years-old and each of their passengers are required to wear a seat belt. If either the driver or the passenger fails to wear the seat belt, each could be cited for a seat belt violation would be fined $75 (as opposed to current $15 fine).

Youthful Offender Status

Under the new law, effective August 1, 2008, someone under the age of 18 who commits the following cannot be considered a youthful offender:

*Negligent homicide with a motor vehicle

*Evading responsibility following an accident that results in a death or serious injury

*Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

In addition, under the new law, effective August 1, 2008, any youth adjudicated as a youthful offender for the following offenses shall have their records disclosed to DMV for the purposes of imposing a driver’s license suspension:

*Reckless driving

*Operating while under suspension

*Evading responsibility following an accident involving property or nonserious injury

*Racing

*Disregarding a police officer’s signal to stop and increasing speed to elude such officer

Saving Lives

“Car accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers in our nation — and they do not have to be,” Gov Rell said. “This legislation puts important new safety requirements in place. It provides for significant new restrictions and suspensions for violations. It will indeed save lives by promoting safer driving habits.”

Here in Newtown, Capt Rios could not agree more.

“Stiffer penalties may also deter and remove some those dangerous drivers from our roads,” he said.

According to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, car accidents claimed the lives of 15 teens in 2007 and 14 teens in 2006. In the first three months of this year, the state lost seven teens to traffic fatalities on Connecticut roadways.