Relates to the minimum hours of supervised driving requirement for licensing

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill would amend Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) 502(2)(c) to require applicants for a class D or M license who are seventeen years of age and have completed a driver education course to submit proof of having completed a minimum of 50 hours of supervised driving experience, 15 hours of which were performed after sunset.

Section 2 of the bill would amend VTL § 507(1) to make a conforming amendment to provide for the issuance of a class D license to individ- uals who complete a driver education course.

Section 3 of the bill would amend section 14 of Chapter 403 of the Laws of 2009 to provide that certain restrictions on DJ permit and license holders shall apply uniformly effective September 1, 2010.

Section 4 of the bill provides that sections 1 and 2 would take effect 30 days after enactment and section 3 would take effect immediately.

Existing law

Current law provides that applicants for DJ or MJ licenses must submit proof that they have completed 50 hours of supervised driving. There is no requirement that an applicant for a D or M license who is 17 years of age and who has completed a driver education course submit such proof.

Currently, VTL §§ 501-b(1) and 501-b(2) provide that up to 2 non-family passengers under 21 may be in a motor vehicle operated by the holder of a DJ or MJ learner's permit/license. Pursuant to Chapter 403 of the Laws of 2009, effective February 22, 2010, the holder of a DJ permit or license issued on or after such date may operate a motor vehicle with only 1 non-family member passenger.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

This is a new bill.

Statement in support

Chapter 403 of the Laws of 2009 increased, from 20 to 50, the minimum number of hours of supervised driving required by an applicant for a DJ or MJ license to be eligible to take a road test. This requirement did not include those applicants who complete a driver education course. Although a driver education course is valuable, most such courses only provide 6 hours of on-road experience. Therefore, it does not make sense to require teenagers who do not take a driver education course to have at least 50 hours of supervised driving experience, while waiving that requirement completely for those teens who take a course. Under this proposal, all license applicants who are under the age of 18 must submit the proof of additional on-the-road driving experience.

Currently, VTL §§ 501-b(1) and 501-b(2) provides that only two non-fami- ly passengers under 21 may be in a motor vehicle operated by the holder of a DJ or MJ learner's permit. Chapter 403 of the Laws of 2009 tight- ened this restriction to only 1 non-family person. The effective date provided that this new restriction would apply to DJ permits and licenses issued on or after February 22, 2010. This creates a situation where individuals who are issued their DJ permits or licenses prior to February 22, 2010, are subject to a less stringent requirement than those issued after February 22. This bill will fix this discrepancy by amending the effective date of Chapter 403 so that all DJ permit holders are subject to the 1 non-family passenger restriction.

Budget implications

This bill does not have any budget implications.

Effective date

Sections 1 and 2 of the bill would take effect 30 days after being approved and would apply to individuals enrolling in driver education courses on or after that date, and section 3 would take effect imme- diately.