BILL NUMBER: AB 2464 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Huffman
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 12814.6 of the Vehicle Code, relating to
vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2464, as introduced, Huffman. Vehicles: provisional licensing.
(1) The Brady-Jared Teen Driver Safety Act of 1997 allows for the
issuance of a driver's license to a person at least 16 years of age
but under 18 years of age pursuant to the provisional licensing
program. Under the act, licensees are required to meet specified
requirements, driver education, and training.
This bill would raise the maximum age of a person who would be
required to be issued a driver's license pursuant to the provisional
licensing program to 21 years of age. The bill would in addition
require a person participating in the provisional licensing program
who has a valid instruction permit to complete at least the first
lesson of behind-the-wheel instruction before operating a motor
vehicle. The bill would eliminate one of 3 training and instructional
options required for obtaining a provisional license and would
require the integrated driver education and training program option
to include a phase 2 training to develop crash avoidance skills. The
bill would require the person to record and maintain a supervised
driving log and submit to a driving school the driving log certifying
that he or she has completed the required amount of driving practice
before starting phase 2 training and before being issued a
Behind-the-Wheel Completion Certificate. Because a violation of this
provision is a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The bill would require driving instructors teaching the
above-described phase 2 training to meet specified requirements and
would require an owner of a driving school that is not a public or
private secondary school to make a certification under penalty of
perjury regarding the qualifications of those instructors. Because a
violation of these requirements would be a crime, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The National Transportation Safety Board, on August 5, 2005,
concluded that "the 56-year-old formula of 30 hours of classroom
training followed sequentially by 6 hours of behind-the-wheel
training was determined arbitrarily and is probably inadequate to
teach teenagers the skills necessary to drive safely on today's
roadways." Moreover, the report indicates that researchers "have
shown that driver education accomplished in 30 hours of classroom and
6 hours of behind-the-wheel training, cannot reasonably be expected
to transform a nondriver into a safe driver."
(b) At the recommendation of the National Transportation Safety
Board, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
completed a nearly four-year project that concluded on April 16,
2009, with the publication of the Novice Teen Driver Education and
Training Administrative Standards (NTDET AS). These new training
standards for novice drivers reflect the collective knowledge and
experience of both research and practice in driver education and
training today. Organizations participating in this project include
the NHTSA, the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education
Association (ADTSEA), the American Automobile Association (AAA)
Foundation for Traffic Safety, the Driving School Association of the
Americas, as well as 58 driver education and training specialists,
and state administrators from the United States and Canada. New
training standards for novice drivers include both of the following:
(1) Completion of a minimum of 45 hours of classroom theory that
includes risk management principles in all driving situations.
(2) Completion of a minimum of 10 hours of behind-the-wheel
instruction that includes crash avoidance and risk management skill
training in all driving situations and using visual search skills to
obtain current information and make reduced-risk decisions for
effective speed and position adjustments.
(c) In February 2008, the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
reported the following problems with graduated driver licensing:
(1) It is based on age, the least important factor, rather than
based on important individual and social factors.
(2) It fails to address localized variations, such as poverty,
older vehicles, and other factors.
(3) It fails to address high-risk drivers. In fact, this failure
may worsen the problem by deputizing high-risk parents to train their
children.
(4) It reduces the number of crashes caused by 16- and 17-year-old
drivers by reducing their driving instead of improving their skills,
thus resulting in less-experienced 18- and 19-year-old drivers.
(d) The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice recommends the
following for driver licensing:
(1) Change the current graduated licensing law from an age-based
process to a skill- and competence-based process.
(2) Award driving privileges to novice drivers of all ages based
on rigorously testing on-the-road driving skills and knowledge, not
on enduring arbitrary delays and restrictions until a certain age is
reached.
(3) Reinstate professionalism in driver training and not presume
the driving ability of anyone over 25 years of age.
(e) The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that the
majority of novice driver crashes are due to inexperience. Novice
teenage drivers must be given the skills needed to avoid crashes. Car
crashes are the number one cause of death among 15 to 20 year olds.
First-year teenage drivers have 10 times the crashes per mile as
adults. Novice teenage drivers do not recognize the risks involved
with driving a motor vehicle and unsafe behavior. What they do not
know leads to false confidence. This same pattern exists at all ages
and levels of experience.
(f) On January 18, 2006, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
reported that the majority of people killed in teenage driver crashes
are people other than the teenage drivers themselves. Young novice
drivers comprise slightly more than one-third of all the fatalities
in crashes in which they are involved, whereas nearly two-thirds of
those killed are other vehicle users and pedestrians. These
statistics provide new urgency to the need to develop new training
modalities that will substantially reduce these tragic deaths.
(g) The goal of the California Strategic Highway Safety Plan -
Challenge 6: Reduce Young Driver Fatalities is to reduce the number
of fatalities involving drivers between 15 and 20 years of age by 15
percent from their 2004 level of 811 deaths. Fatalities among those
drivers averaged 801 highway fatalities during the 13-year span
between 1995 and 2007. Novice drivers must be given the skills needed
to avoid fatal crashes. The Strategic Highway Safety Program has
determined that the traffic safety economic impact to California for
each highway fatality is $4,100,000. Considering the value of a life,
the costs of rehabilitation, and the pain and suffering of a lost
loved one, the economic justification for collision prevention
training is overwhelming and obvious.
(h) According to traffic safety researcher, Dr. Richard Harkness
of Sacramento-based Advanced Drivers Education Products and Training,
Incorporated, there is an overwhelming consensus in the research
that suggests that traditional prelicensing driver education and
training produces little or no crash reduction benefit for young
drivers. Several significant flaws in driver training that appear to
be responsible for the disappointing crash reduction performance
observed in most of the research include:
(1) Driver education and in-car training targets the rules of the
road and the Department of Motor Vehicles drive test, not crash
reduction.
(2) Most of the content of driver education or training is
opinion-based and not science-based regarding crash reduction.
(3) Learning and teaching effectiveness evaluations are virtually
nonexistent in the driver training industry as is contemporary
instructional design or technology.
(4) Novice teenage drivers have not developed basic driving skills
and their cognitive learning level is not ready to master complex
collision prevention training.
(i) Teaching and retention of advanced skills collision prevention
training during the initial stage of in-car training for teenagers
are difficult and problematic at best. Advanced safety skill
acquisition requires skill integration and multitasking. Research has
shown that advanced driver skills, such as collision prevention
training, cannot be effectively mastered until the teenager has some
real and meaningful on-the-road driving experience.
(j) In 2007, the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO), in cooperation with the Federal
Highway Administration, issued its Strategic Highway Safety Plan to
reduce annual highway fatalities to 1.0 fatality per 100 million
vehicle-miles of travel. The report includes: A Guide for Reducing
Collisions Involving Young Drivers. The report strongly acknowledges
that young, inexperienced teenage drivers "clearly make poor
judgments in their first many months of driving, resulting in a high
crash rate. These failed judgments often represent mistakes in
assessing, or in even noticing, hazards in the driving environment.
They also reflect misconceptions about drivers' limited abilities and
their susceptibility to crashing. Therefore, a promising approach
for improving young driver safety may lie in more effectively
training them to perceive hazards and to respond accordingly, rather
than focusing on the kinds of basic vehicle control skills that are
frequently and mistakenly equated with safe driving."
(k) Organizations on record that recommend that driver education
and training programs for novice drivers focus on vehicle handling
and crash avoidance, driver behavior, and risk reduction include the
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the American Driver and Traffic
Safety Education Association, the Governors' Highway Safety
Association, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the
Driving School Association of the Americas, Incorporated, the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials,
Advanced Drivers Education Products and Training, Incorporated, the
Driving School Association of California, Incorporated, and the
Federal Highway Administration.
( l ) The lifesaving benefits of crash avoidance
training have been recognized by the Department of Insurance that
authorizes a 20-percent automobile insurance policy premium discount
for teenagers 16 to 18 years of age who complete designated crash
avoidance training. The discount translates into several hundred
dollars a year for most insured drivers that is tantamount to
refunding the cost of collision prevention training over a three-year
period. Through the discount, parents actually save substantially
while providing lifesaving crash avoidance training for their
teenagers.
SEC. 2. Section 12814.6 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:
12814.6. (a) Except as provided in Section 12814.7, a driver's
license issued to a person at least 16 years of age but under
18 21 years of age shall be issued
pursuant to the provisional licensing program contained in this
section. The program shall consist of all of the following
components:
(1) Upon application for an original license, the applicant shall
be issued an instruction permit pursuant to Section 12509. A person
who has in his or her immediate possession a valid permit issued
pursuant to Section 12509 may operate a motor vehicle, other than a
motorcycle or motorized bicycle, only when the person is either
taking the driver training instruction referred to in paragraph (3)
and has completed at least the first lesson of behind-the-wheel
instruction, or practicing that instruction after
completion of at least the first behind- the-wheel
instruction , provided the person is accompanied by, and is
under the immediate supervision of, a California licensed driver 25
years of age or older whose driving privilege is not on probation.
The age requirement of this paragraph does not apply if the licensed
driver is the parent, spouse, or guardian of the permitholder or is a
licensed or certified driving instructor.
(2) The person shall hold an instruction permit for not less than
six months prior to applying for a provisional driver's license.
(3) (A) The person shall have complied with
one either of the following:
(A)
(i) Satisfactory completion of approved courses in
automobile driver education and driver training maintained pursuant
to provisions of the Education Code in any secondary school of
California, or equivalent instruction in a secondary school of
another state.
(B)
(ii) Satisfactory completion of an integrated driver
education and training program that is approved by the department and
conducted by a driving instructor licensed under Chapter 1
(commencing with Section 11100) of Division 5. The program shall
utilize segmented modules, whereby a portion of the educational
instruction is provided by, and then reinforced through, specific
behind-the-wheel training before moving to the next phase of driver
education and training. The program shall be taught in two
phases. Phase one shall contain a minimum of 30 hours of
classroom instruction and six hours of behind-the-wheel training.
The person shall complete a minimum of 30 hours of supervised
driving practice prior to starting phase two training that shall
include four hours of defensive driving classroom instruction
integrated with four hours of the crash avoidance training skills
that include visual search, hazard detection, risk assessment, space
management, and speed control. The person shall record and maintain a
supervised driving log provided by the driving school and shall
submit to the driving school the supervised driving log, certifying
that the person has completed the required amount of driving practice
and is prepared to start phase two training.
(C) Satisfactory completion of six hours or more of
behind-the-wheel instruction by a driving school or an independent
driving instructor licensed under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section
11100) of Division 5 and either an accredited course in automobile
driver education in any secondary school of California pursuant to
provisions of the Education Code or satisfactory completion of
equivalent professional instruction acceptable to the department. To
be acceptable to the department, the professional instruction shall
meet minimum standards to be prescribed by the department, and the
standards shall be at least equal to the requirements for driver
education and driver training contained in the rules and regulations
adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to the Education
Code.
(B) A person who has complied with this
subdivision shall not be required by the governing board of a school
district to comply with subparagraph (A)
clause (i) of subparagraph (A) in order to graduate from high
school.
(D)
(C) Except as provided under subparagraph (B)
clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) , a student
may shall not take driver training
instruction, unless he or she has successfully completed driver
education.
(4) The person shall complete 50 hours of supervised driving
practice prior to the issuance of a provisional license, which is in
addition to any other driver training instruction required by law.
Not less than 10 of the required practice hours shall include driving
during darkness, as defined in Section 280. The person shall
submit to the driving school the supervised driving log, certifying
that the applicant has co mpleted the required amount of
driving practice before being issued a Behind-the-Wheel
Completion Certificate. Upon application for a provisional
license, the person shall submit to the department the certification
of a parent, spouse, guardian, or licensed or certified driving
instructor that the applicant has completed the required amount of
driving practice and is prepared to take the department's driving
test. A person without a parent, spouse, guardian, or who is an
emancipated minor, may have a licensed driver 25 years of age or
older or a licensed or certified driving instructor complete the
certification. This requirement does not apply to motorcycle
practice.
(5) The person shall successfully complete an examination required
by the department. Before retaking a test, the person shall wait for
not less than one week after failure of the written test and for not
less than two weeks after failure of the driving test.
(b) Except as provided in Section 12814.7, the provisional driver'
s license shall be subject to all of the following restrictions:
(1) Except as specified in paragraph (2), during the first 12
months after issuance of a provisional license the licensee
may shall not do any of the following unless
accompanied and supervised by a licensed driver who is the licensee's
parent or guardian, a licensed driver who is 25 years of age or
older, or a licensed or certified driving instructor:
(A) Drive between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
(B) Transport passengers who are under 20 years of age.
(2) A licensee may drive between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
or transport an immediate family member without being accompanied and
supervised by a licensed driver who is the licensee's parent or
guardian, a licensed driver who is 25 years of age or older, or a
licensed or certified driving instructor, in the following
circumstances:
(A) Medical necessity of the licensee when reasonable
transportation facilities are inadequate and operation of a vehicle
by a minor is necessary. The licensee shall keep in his or her
possession a signed statement from a physician familiar with the
condition, containing a diagnosis and probable date when sufficient
recovery will have been made to terminate the necessity.
(B) Schooling or school-authorized activities of the licensee when
reasonable transportation facilities are inadequate and operation of
a vehicle by a minor is necessary. The licensee shall keep in his or
her possession a signed statement from the school principal, dean,
or school staff member designated by the principal or dean,
containing a probable date that the schooling or school-authorized
activity will have been completed.
(C) Employment necessity of the licensee when reasonable
transportation facilities are inadequate and operation of a vehicle
by a minor is necessary. The licensee shall keep in his or her
possession a signed statement from the employer, verifying employment
and containing a probable date that the employment will have been
completed.
(D) Necessity of the licensee or the licensee's immediate family
member when reasonable transportation facilities are inadequate and
operation of a vehicle by a minor is necessary to transport the
licensee or the licensee's immediate family member. The licensee
shall keep in his or her possession a signed statement from a parent
or legal guardian verifying the reason and containing a probable date
that the necessity will have ceased.
(E) The licensee is an emancipated minor.
(c) A law enforcement officer shall not stop a vehicle for the
sole purpose of determining whether the driver is in violation of the
restrictions imposed under subdivision (b).
(d) A law enforcement officer shall not stop a vehicle for the
sole purpose of determining whether a driver who is subject to the
license restrictions in subdivision (b) is in violation of Article
2.5 (commencing with Section 118947) of Chapter 4 of Part 15 of
Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code.
(e) (1) Upon a finding that any licensee has violated paragraph
(1) of subdivision (b), the court shall impose one of the following:
(A) Not less than eight hours nor more than 16 hours of community
service for a first offense and not less than 16 hours nor more than
24 hours of community service for a second or subsequent offense.
(B) A fine of not more than thirty-five dollars ($35) for a first
offense and a fine of not more than fifty dollars ($50) for a second
or subsequent offense.
(2) If the court orders community service, the court shall retain
jurisdiction until the hours of community service have been
completed.
(3) If the hours of community service have not been completed
within 90 days, the court shall impose a fine of not more than
thirty-five dollars ($35) for a first offense and not more than fifty
dollars ($50) for a second or subsequent offense.
(f) A conviction of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), when
reported to the department, may shall
not be disclosed as otherwise specified in Section 1808 or constitute
a violation point count value pursuant to Section 12810.
(g) Any term of restriction or suspension of the driving privilege
imposed on a person pursuant to this subdivision shall remain in
effect until the end of the term even though the person becomes 18
years of age before the term ends.
(1) The driving privilege shall be suspended when the record of
the person shows one or more notifications issued pursuant to Section
40509 or 40509.5. The suspension shall continue until any
notification issued pursuant to Section 40509 or 40509.5 has been
cleared.
(2) A 30-day restriction shall be imposed when a driver's record
shows a violation point count of two or more points in 12 months, as
determined in accordance with Section 12810. The restriction shall
require the licensee to be accompanied by a licensed parent, spouse,
guardian, or other licensed driver 25 years of age or older, except
when operating a class M vehicle, or so licensed, with no passengers
aboard.
(3) A six-month suspension of the driving privilege and a one-year
term of probation shall be imposed whenever a licensee's record
shows a violation point count of three or more points in 12 months,
as determined in accordance with Section 12810. The terms and
conditions of probation shall include, but not be limited to, both of
the following:
(A) The person shall violate no law which, if resulting in
conviction, is reportable to the department under Section 1803.
(B) The person shall remain free from accident responsibility.
(h) Whenever action by the department under subdivision (g) arises
as a result of a motor vehicle accident, the person may, in writing
and within 10 days, demand a hearing to present evidence that he or
she was not responsible for the accident upon which the action is
based. Whenever action by the department is based upon a conviction
reportable to the department under Section 1803, the person has no
right to a hearing pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
14100) of Chapter 3.
(i) The department shall require a person whose driving privilege
is suspended or revoked pursuant to subdivision (g) to submit proof
of financial responsibility as defined in Section 16430. The proof of
financial responsibility shall be filed on or before the date of
reinstatement following the suspension or revocation. The proof of
financial responsibility shall be maintained with the department for
three years following the date of reinstatement.
(j) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the
department may issue a distinctive driver's license, that displays a
distinctive color or a distinctively colored stripe or other
distinguishing characteristic, to persons at least 16 years of age
and older but under 18 years of age, and to persons 18 years of age
and older but under 21 years of age, so that the distinctive license
feature is immediately recognizable. The features shall clearly
differentiate between driver's licenses issued to persons at least 16
years of age or older but under 18 years of age and to persons 18
years of age or older but under 21 years of age.
(2) If changes in the format or appearance of driver's licenses
are adopted pursuant to this subdivision, those changes may be
implemented under any new contract for the production of driver's
licenses entered into after the adoption of those changes.
(k) The department shall include, on the face of the provisional
driver's license, the original issuance date of the provisional
driver's license in addition to any other issuance date.
(l) (1) A driving school owner shall certify to the department
under penalty of perjury that the driving instructors employed by the
school that teach phase two training as described in clause (ii) of
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) have taught at
least 2,000 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction and are qualified
to teach the advanced driving skills described in clause (ii) of
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a). The department
may require verification of the 2,000 hours of instruction through
employment records.
(2) Driving instructors teaching phase two training as described
in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision
(a) shall complete a minimum of six hours of crash avoidance training
in each succeeding three-year period following the commencement of
teaching the crash avoidance skills through satisfactory completion
of continuing education courses, or other education, approved by the
department. These courses shall satisfy the continuing professional
education requirement of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section
11207.
(3) The department may charge driving schools a fee to defray its
costs in approving integrated training plans pursuant to clause (ii)
of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) and in
implementing paragraphs (1) and (2).
(4) Clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) and paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, do not apply to
public or private secondary schools.
(l)
(m) This section shall be known and may be
cited as the Brady-Jared Teen Driver Safety Act of 1997.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.