GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

H	3 

HOUSE BILL 248*
Committee Substitute Favorable 2/19/97
Committee Substitute #2 Favorable 2/27/97

Short Title:  Graduated Drivers Licenses.	(Public)

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Sponsors:

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Referred to:  

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February 17, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT GRADUATED DRIVERS LICENSES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 20-11 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20-11.  Issuance of limited learner's permit and provisional drivers license to person who is less than 18 years old.
			(a)	Process. – Safe driving requires instruction in driving and experience.  To ensure that a person who is less than 18 years old has both instruction and experience before obtaining a drivers license, driving privileges are granted first on a limited basis and are then expanded in accordance with the following process:
(1)	Level 1:  Driving with a limited learner's permit.
(2)	Level 2:  Driving with a limited provisional license.
(3)	Level 3:  Driving with a full provisional license.
The permits and licenses will bear a distinctive color photographic background or border indicating the level of  driving experience of the permit holder or licensee.
(b)	Level 1. – A person who is at least 15 years old but less than 18 years old may obtain a limited learner's permit if the person meets all of the following requirements:
(1)	Passes a course of driver education prescribed in G.S. 20-88.1 or a course of driver instruction at a licensed commercial driver training school.
(2)	Passes a written test administered by the Division.
(c)	Level 1 Restrictions. – A limited learner's permit authorizes the permit holder to drive a specified type or class of motor vehicle only under the following conditions:
(1)	The holder of the permit must be in possession of the permit.
(2)	A supervising driver must be seated beside the permit holder in the front seat of the vehicle when it is in motion.  No person other than the supervising driver can be in the front seat.
(3)	For the first six months after issuance, the permit holder may drive only between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.
(4)	After the first six months after issuance, the permit holder may drive at any time.
(5)	Every person occupying the vehicle being driven by the permit holder must have a safety belt properly fastened about his or her body, or be restrained by a child passenger restraint system as provided in G.S. 20-137.1(a), when the vehicle is in motion.
(d)	Level 2. – A person who is at least 16 years old but less than 18 years old may obtain a limited provisional license if the person meets all of the following requirements:
(1)	Has held a limited learner's permit issued by the Division for at least 12 months.
(2)	Has not been convicted of a motor vehicle moving violation or seat belt infraction during the preceding 12 months.
(3)	Passes a road test administered by the Division.
(e)	Level 2 Restrictions. – A limited provisional license authorizes the license holder to drive a specified type or class of motor vehicle only under the following conditions:
(1)	The license holder must be in possession of the license.
(2)	The license holder may drive without supervision from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and when driving to or from work.
(3)	The license holder may drive with supervision at any time.  When the license holder is driving with supervision, the supervising driver must be seated beside the license holder in the front seat of the vehicle when it is in motion.  The supervising driver need not be the only other occupant of the front seat, but must be the person seated next to the license holder.
(4)	Every person occupying the vehicle being driven by the license holder must have a safety belt properly fastened about his or her body, or be restrained by a child passenger restraint system as provided in G.S. 20-137.1(a), when the vehicle is in motion.
(f)	Level 3. – A person who is at least 16 years old but less than 18 years old may obtain a full provisional license if the person meets all of the following requirements:
(1)	Has held a limited provisional license issued by the Division for at least six months.
(2)	Has not been convicted of a motor vehicle moving violation or seat belt infraction during the preceding six months.
A person who meets these requirements may obtain a full provisional license by mail.
(g)	Level 3 Restrictions. – The restrictions on Level 1 and Level 2 drivers concerning time of driving, supervision, and passenger limitations do not apply to a full provisional license.
(h)	Out-of-State Exceptions. – A person who is at least 16 years old but less than 18 years old, who was a resident of another state and has an unrestricted drivers license issued by that state, and who becomes a resident of this State may obtain one of the following:
(1)	A temporary permit, if the person has not completed a drivers education program that meets the requirements of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction but is currently enrolled in a drivers education program that meets these requirements.  A temporary permit is valid for the period specified in the permit.  The period must end within 10 days after the expected completion date of the drivers education program in which the applicant is enrolled.
(2)	A full provisional license, if the person has completed a drivers education program that meets the requirements of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, has held the license issued by the other state for at least 12 months, and has not been convicted of an offense for which points are assessed under G.S. 20-16 during the preceding 12 months.
(3)	A limited provisional license, if the person has completed a drivers education program that meets the requirements of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, but either did not hold the license issued by the other state for at least 12 months or was convicted of an offense for which points are assessed under G.S. 20-16 during the preceding 12 months.
(i)	Application. – An application for a permit or license authorized by this section must be signed by both the applicant and by the applicant's parent or guardian or, if a parent or guardian is not available, by an adult approved by the Division.
(j)	Duration and Fee. – A limited learner's permit expires on the eighteenth birthday of the permit holder.  A limited provisional license expires on the eighteenth birthday of the license holder. A full provisional license expires on the date set under G.S. 20-7(f).  The fee for a permit or license issued under this section is ten dollars ($10.00).
(k)	Supervising Driver. – The supervising driver must be the parent or guardian of the permit holder or the license holder or, if a parent or guardian is not available, an adult approved by the Division.  The supervising driver must be a licensed driver who has been licensed to drive for at least five years.
(l)	Insurance Status. – The holder of a limited learner's permit is not considered a licensed driver for the purpose of determining the inexperienced operator premium surcharge under automobile insurance policies."
Section 2.  G.S. 20-135.2A(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Each front seat occupant who is 16 years of age or older and each driver of a passenger motor vehicle manufactured with seat safety belts in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208 shall have such a safety belt properly fastened about his body at all times when the vehicle is in forward motion on a street or highway in this State. Each driver of a passenger motor vehicle manufactured with seat safety belts in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, who is transporting in the front seat a person who is (1) under 16 years of age and (2) not required to be restrained in accordance with G.S. 20-137.1, shall have the person secured by such a safety belt at all times when the vehicle is operated in forward motion on a street or highway in this State. Persons required to be restrained in accordance with G.S. 20-11 and G.S. 20-137.1 shall be secured as required by those sections."
Section 3.  G.S. 20-88.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	In accordance with criteria and standards approved by the State Board of Education, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall organize and administer a program of driver education to be offered at the public high schools of this State for all physically and mentally qualified persons who (i) are older than 14 years and six months, (ii) are approved by the principal of the school, pursuant to rules adopted by the State Board of Education, (iii) are enrolled in a public or private high school within the State, and (iv) have not previously enrolled in the program. The State Board of Education shall use for such purpose all funds appropriated to it for said purpose, and may use all other funds that become available for its use for said purpose. 
The driver education program established pursuant to this section shall include the following:
(1)	Instruction on the rights and privileges of the handicapped and the signs and symbols used to assist the handicapped relative to motor vehicles, including the "international symbol of accessibility”and other symbols and devices as provided in Article 2A of this Chapter. 
(2)	At least six hours of instruction on the offense of driving while impaired and related subjects.
(3)	At least six hours of actual driving experience."
Section 4.  G.S. 20-322(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Regulations adopted by the Commissioner shall state the requirements for a school license, including requirements concerning location, equipment, courses of instruction, instructors, financial statements, schedule of fees and charges, character and reputation of the operators, insurance, bond or other security in such sum and with such provisions as the Commissioner deems necessary to protect adequately the interests of the public, and such other matters as the Commissioner may prescribe.  All driver training and safety education courses and courses of driving instruction must include at least six hours of actual driving experience."
Section 5.  G.S. 20-7(a1) reads as rewritten:
"(a1)	Motorcycles and Mopeds. – To drive a motorcycle, a person must have either a full provisional license issued under G.S. 20-11 or a regular drivers license issued under this section and a motorcycle endorsement. To obtain a motorcycle endorsement, a person must demonstrate competence to drive a motorcycle by passing a road test and a written or oral test concerning a motorcycle and must pay the fee for a motorcycle endorsement. Neither a drivers license nor a motorcycle endorsement is required to drive a moped."
Section 6.  This act does not appropriate funds to the Division to implement this act nor does it obligate the General Assembly to appropriate funds to implement this act.
Section 7.  This act becomes effective December 1, 1997, if the General Assembly appropriates the necessary funds from the Highway Fund to the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles, to administer the provisional license program. The act does not apply to any person who holds a valid North Carolina limited learner's permit issued before the effective date of this act, a valid North Carolina learner's permit issued before the effective date of this act, or who is a provisional licensee holding a valid North Carolina drivers license issued before the effective date of this act.