Effective August 1-Revised Teen Driving Laws Tighten Rules, Increase Penalties

By ANDY GOROSKO

Published: Aug 01, 2008 12:00 am

Effective August 1â

Revised Teen Driving Laws Tighten Rules, Increase Penalties

By Andrew Gorosko

New state laws that take effect on Friday, August 1, place tighter restrictions on 16- and 17-year-old drivers and impose stricter penalties on them for violations of those laws.

Representatives of seven municipal police departments and the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) were slated to meet July 31 in Newtown to publicize the comprehensive new laws that are intended to improve teen driver safety.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said, âItâs impacting our community and [communities] across the stateâ¦We want to keep our community safe, our young people safe.â

âWe will be enforcing the new laws,â he added, saying he hopes that the public takes the new driving rules seriously.

The police departmentâs school resource officer at Newtown High School will work closely with school administrators to make them aware of the provisions of the new laws, Chief Kehoe said.

The DMV has summarized the various new laws that affect 16- and 17-year-old drivers, explaining how the youths will be affected by the rule changes.

Those youths who obtain a learnerâs permit on or after August 1 must pass a 25-question test to obtain that permit. Before learnerâs permit holders may apply for a driverâs license, they must have had at least 40 hours of driver training behind the wheel of an automobile. Permit holders must complete an eight-hour safe driving course. The parents or the legal guardians of those teens must complete a two-hour class with the learnerâs permit holder on the subject of teenage driving laws.

The new laws also cover passenger restrictions.

While holding a learnerâs permit, the youth may not have any passengers in the vehicle, except for several cases.

The exceptions include a licensed driving instructor who is providing driving instruction, or a person who is providing instruction who is at least 20 years old, has held a driverâs license for at least four consecutive years, and whose license has not been suspended during the four years prior to driver training.

Another exception for passengers is the learnerâs parents or legal guardian, at least one of whom holds a valid driverâs license.

Curfew

Also for 16- and 17-year-old drivers, a curfew will be in place from 11 pm to 5 am, unless the teen driver is traveling for employment, school, religious activities, or medical necessity, or the person is a driver in the Safe Rides program.

After a teen receives a driverâs license, the driver may not have any passengers in the vehicle for six months, with certain exceptions.

Those exceptions include: a licensed driving instructor who is providing instruction; parents or a legal guardian, at least one of whom holds a driverâs license; or a person providing instruction who is at least age 20, has held a driverâs license for at least four consecutive years, and whose license has not been suspended during the four years preceding the driver training, according to DMV.

During the seventh through twelfth month after a new driver receives a license, the only additional passengers allowed in the vehicle are members of the driverâs immediate family.

Also, the holders of learnerâs permits and 16- and 17-year-old drivers with licenses will be prohibited from transporting more passengers than the number of seatbelts within a vehicle; will be prohibited from driving vehicles that require a public passenger transportation permit or a vanpool vehicle; will be prohibited from using a cellphone, even with a hands-free device; will be prohibited from using a mobile electronic device while driving; and will be prohibited from transporting any passenger on a motorcycle for six months after the issuance of a motorcycle license.

The DMV notes that the driving restrictions do not apply to people who are firefighters, ambulance staffers, or emergency medical service personnel who are responding to an emergency call or carrying out their duties.

Seat Belts

Drivers who are 16 and 17 years old and their passengers must wear seat belts. Fines for violations are increasing from $15 to $75.

For certain moving violations, 16- and 17-year-old drivers will have their licenses seized and suspended for 48 hours. Vehicles may be removed from the scene by police.

The seized license will be held by police for 48 hours. To regain the seized license the youth must go to the local police department with a parent or guardian to formally reclaim it.

Drivers age 24 or younger who have committed two or more moving violations or license suspension violations must complete a state-sanctioned driver retraining program.

According to the DMV, the retraining requirement could be triggered by violations of the learnerâs permit requirements, driving in violation of passenger restriction and curfew laws, and using a cellphone or other mobile electronic device.

Alcohol

The DMV cautions that the administrative license suspension period for a 16- or 17-year-old who drives under the influence of alcohol will be will be a minimum of one year, if the personâs blood alcohol level (BAL) is .02-percent BAL or greater. If the driver refuses to submit to a sobriety test, the suspension period will increase to 18 months.

Starting August 1, drivers under age 18 will not be considered âyouthful offendersâ if they are charged with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, evading responsibility following a motor vehicle accident involving property damage or physical injury, and driving under the influence or alcohol and/or drugs.

Youthful offender status is granted to 16- and 17-year-old defendants in certain cases under which court proceedings are closed to the public and the court dispositions of cases are undisclosed.

Also, under the provisions of the new laws, any youths whose court cases are handled with youthful offender status will have their court records disclosed to the DMV for the purposes of imposing driverâs license suspensions, if those youthsâ offenses include: reckless driving, driving under suspension, evading responsibility following an accident involving property damage or physical injury, street racing, and disregarding a police officerâs signal to stop.

The new laws specify a series of progressively stricter punishments including license suspensions and fines for 16- and 17-year-olds who violate laws concerning the use of a cellphone or text-messaging device, speeding, reckless driving, and street racing.

The DMV recommends that people who want more information on the new laws to visit the DMVâs website at ct.gov/teendriving.

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Effective August 1-Revised Teen Driving Laws Tighten Rules, Increase Penalties

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