BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 724
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 724 (Cooley) - As Amended: April 16, 2013
SUBJECT : Provisional driver's licenses
SUMMARY : Extends the enforcement age for provisional driver's
licenses and program requirements from 18- to 20-years of age.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Subjects a novice driver less than 20 years of age to existing
requirements and restrictions of the Department of Motor
Vehicle's (DMV) Provisional Licensing Program including,
a) Successfully completing driver's education and training;
b) Receiving and holding an instructional permit for a
minimum of six months, and within that period complete 50
hours of supervised driving practice with a licensed driver
25 years of age or older;
c) Successfully completing an examination administered by
DMV prior to receiving a provisional driver's license
(PDL);
d) Being prohibited from driving between the hours of 11
p.m. to 5 a.m., and from transporting passengers who are
under 20 years of age unless accompanied by a parent,
guardian, licensed driver who is 25 years of age or older,
or a licensed or certified driving instructor; and,
e) Requiring a provisional licensee to be subject to the
abovementioned restrictions for the first 12 months or
until reaching age 20 upon issuance of a PDL.
2)Specifies additional documentation a provisional licensee
between 18- and 19-years of age may use to be exempt from
certain driving restrictions.
3)Clarifies that DMV is not required to issue the same
distinctive driver's license to a provisional licensee between
18-and 19-years of age that is issued to a provisional
licensee under age 18.
AB 724
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4)Makes other related technical amendments to expand the
provisional license program to persons between 18- and
19-years of age.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires DMV to issue PDLs, also known as graduated driver's
licenses (GDL), to successful driver's license applicants who
are over the age of 16 but under the age of 18, have
successfully completed driver's education and training, and
have held an instructional permit for a minimum of 6 months.
Specific requirements include:
a) 30 hours of classroom education;
b) 6 hours of behind-the-wheel training; and,
c) 50 hours of supervised behind-the-wheel training,
including a minimum of 10 hours of night driving certified
by a parent, spouse, guardian, or certified driving
instructors.
2)Subjects provisional licensees to restrictions on their
driving activities, including the following:
a) Prohibits them from driving between the hours of 11 p.m.
to 5 a.m.; and,
b) Prohibits them from transporting passengers who are
under 20 year of age.
3)Requires a provisional licensee to be subject to the
abovementioned restrictions for a period of 12 months upon
being issued a PDL.
4)Provides exceptions to these restrictions, as follows:
a) Driving between 11 p.m. and 5a.m. is allowed for school,
employment or medical purposes, if reasonable
transportation alternatives are not available and:
i) For employment purposes: the driver carries a
statement that is signed by his or her employer verifying
the driver's employment and indicating the date
employment is expected to end;
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ii) For medical purposes: the driver carries a signed
statement from his or her doctor stating the diagnosis
and the probable date the necessity will end;
iii) For schooling or school-authorized activities: the
driver carries a statement signed by the school
principal, dean, or authorized staff person stating when
the schooling or school-authorized activity will be
completed; and,
iv) For family purposes: the driver carries a statement
signed by a parent or legal guardian verifying the need
to drive during restricted hours and the probable date
the necessity will end.
5)Prohibits a law enforcement officer from stopping a vehicle
for the sole purpose of determining whether a provisional
licensee is in violation of the restrictions under the
provisional licensing program.
6)Establishes a graduating penalty schedule for violations
committed by a provisional licensee.
7)Requires DMV to issue a distinctive driver's license as
specified to a provisional licensee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : In California, prior to 1998, learner's permits and
provisional driver's licenses were issued to persons between 15-
and 18-years of age. Those licenses did not impose unique
restrictions on teen driving but carried increased sanctions for
violations of the Vehicle Code before reaching the age of 18.
SB 1329 (Leslie), Chapter 760, Statutes of 1997, enacted the
initial iteration of California's current PDL statutory scheme,
placing restrictions on the activities (driving at night,
driving with teenaged passengers, etc.) of 16- and 17-year old
drivers for the initial phase of licensure.
AB 1474 (Maze), Chapter 337, Statutes of 2005, extended the time
frame, from 6 to 12 months, during which a provisional licensee
is prohibited from operating a vehicle while transporting
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individuals under the age of 20. It also prohibited provisional
licensees from driving between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 5:00
a.m., instead of 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., during their first 12
months of licensure, without a signed statement attesting that
the driver's assistance is needed for medical, employment,
schooling, or family transportation purposes.
The PDL program is widely perceived to be a major success in
reducing the number of accidents, injuries, and deaths among
teenage drivers. In fact, studies published in the American
Medical Association (2011) and by the AAA Foundation for Traffic
Safety (2012) have concluded that overall, PDL programs across
the country have had "a major impact in reducing young driver
crashes and associated injuries to themselves and others."
According to the AAA study, in 1995, prior to the widespread
introduction of PDL programs, 2,667 drivers ages 16-17 involved
in fatal crashes across the country. By 2010, the accident rate
dropped 57% with 1,150 fatal crashes for the same age group.
However, for a number of reasons, an increasing number of teens
are delaying obtaining their driver's license until they are 18
or older, when they can get their license without needing to
fulfill driver education and training requirements and can drive
without the same restrictions that are imposed on provisional
drivers who are under age 18. Both of the abovementioned
studies also pointed out that the first year or so of driving by
a newly licensed driver tends to carry the most danger, whether
that driver is 16, 18, or indeed any age. Thus, it is not
surprising that drivers who wait until they are 18 to obtain a
license pose a greater danger than 18-year olds who have been
licensed for a year or two. Additionally, these studies also
concluded that while data shows increasing accident rates for
novice drivers 18- and 19-years of age, additional research is
needed to determine what exactly accounts for this increase and
whether PDL programs can be effectively used to reduce accident
rates for this age group.
The author contents that "studies show that 18- and 19-year olds
that did not participate in the PDL make up 27% of novice
drivers, and have crash rates 23% higher than their same aged
peers who were licensed through the PDL." AB 724 would require
unlicensed teenage drivers between the ages of 18 and 19 to meet
PDL program requirements and restrictions in order to obtain
driver's license. However, while requiring additional education
and training for 18- and 19-year old license applicants may
AB 724
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improve their driving skills and potentially reduce accident
rates in the first year of their driving, current research
indicates that implementing night and passenger restrictions
specified in the PDL program alone may have the most significant
impact in reducing serious and fatal accidents for this age
group.
Implementing the PDL program for 18- and 19-year old adults will
also present challenges not generally faced with the current
program that applies typically to adolescent high school
students. For example, adults are much more likely to need to
drive during late night hours to attend school or work.
Additionally, driver's education and training are time-consuming
and involve an expense that may be difficult for 18- and 19-year
olds to bear. While many teenagers may have delayed applying
for a driver's license specifically to avoid these requirements,
college students or full time employees just out of high school
may similarly not have the time or financial resources to cover
these requirements. The author attempts to resolve several of
these challenges by allowing additional forms of documentation
that 18- and 19-year old provisional licensees may use to be
exempt from late night driving restrictions under specified
circumstances.
Related legislation:
AB 1113 (Frazier) makes a number of changes to the current
provisional license program including, extending nighttime
restrictions to 10 p.m., requiring an instructional permit to be
held for a minimum of nine months, and requiring a provisional
licensee to be subject to program restrictions until age 18. AB
1113 is scheduled to be heard in Assembly Transportation
Committee today.
Previous legislation:
AB 2061 (Norby) of 2012, would have allowed provisional
licensees to transport, without adult supervision, non-family
members for essential educational activities. That bill died in
the Assembly Transportation Committee.
AB 2098 (Jones) of 2012, would have required 18- and 19-year old
driver's license applicants to hold an instruction permit for a
minimum of six months and complete driver education and training
prior to receiving a driver's license. That bill died in the
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Assembly Transportation Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Association of Highway Patrolmen (sponsor)
Impact Teen Drivers (sponsor)
Association of California Insurance Companies
Driving School Association of California
State Farm Insurance
Allstate Insurance
Personal Insurance Federation of California
DriversEd.com
National Transportation Safety Board
Jack O'Connell, Former California Superintendent of Public
Instruction
ProProse
Peace Officers Research Association of California
National Safety Council
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Leon / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093