BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING
Senator Jim Beall, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SCR 69 Hearing Date: 4/19/2016
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|Author: |Galgiani |
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|Version: |5/27/2015 |
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|Urgency: | |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Erin Riches |
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SUBJECT: Driver's licenses: instruction permits: minimum age
DIGEST: This bill requests the state Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) to conduct a study regarding the possible effects
of reducing the minimum age for a learner's permit to 15 years
of age.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
Establishes a provisional driver's license program for
individuals between 16 and 18 years of age.
Provides that prior to issuing a provisional license, the DMV
shall issue an instruction permit, commonly known as a
learner's permit. An individual must be at least 15 years and
six months old to apply for a learner's permit, and must have
taken, or be enrolled in, driver education and training
classes. The learner's permit authorizes the holder to
operate a motor vehicle only when he or she is either taking a
driver training class or is practicing under the immediate
supervision of a California licensed driver 25 years or older.
Prohibits a learner's permit holder from applying for a
provisional driver's license until he or she has held the
permit for at least six months. Requires a permit holder,
prior to applying for a provisional license, to successfully
complete driver education and training classes; at least six
SCR 69 (Galgiani) Page 2 of ?
hours of behind-the-wheel training; 50 hours of supervised
driving practice, including at least 10 hours of nighttime
driving; and an exam required by DMV.
Prohibits, during the first 12 months, a provisional licensee
from driving between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. or from
transporting passengers who are under 20 years old, unless
accompanied by the provisional license holder's parent or
guardian, a licensed driver who is 25 years or older, or a
licensed and certified driving instructor. Provides
exceptions for medical necessity, school activities, job
necessity, need to transport an immediate family member, or if
the licensee is an emancipated minor.
Allows an individual 18 years or older to apply for an
original driver's license by passing a traffic laws and signs
test, among other requirements. Provides that an individual
18 years or older who holds a learner's permit must be
accompanied by another individual 18 years or older when
practicing driving. Provides that this individual may
schedule a driving test at DMV at any time once he or she has
obtained the learner's permit.
This bill requests the DMV to conduct a study regarding the
possible effects of reducing the minimum age for a learner's
permit from 15 years, 6 months to 15 years of age.
COMMENTS:
1) Purpose. The author states that since it generally only
rains during winter in California, a student driver who
receives his or her learner's permit in April will have
completed the training requirement with an instructor by
October and may miss any opportunity to be instructed how to
drive in different, wetter weather scenarios. If the DMV
study requested by this bill finds that lowering the age
requirement by six months could produce better trained
drivers, the Legislature could introduce legislation to
require a one-year learner's permit for those under the age
of 18.
2) Background: California's GDL system. Prior to 1998,
California law allowed teenagers aged 16 to 18 years to
obtain a learner's permit or provisional driver's license
with only minimal restrictions, such as requiring an
SCR 69 (Galgiani) Page 3 of ?
individual to hold a permit for at least 30 days before
applying for a provisional license. SB 1329 (Leslie, Chapter
760, Statutes of 1997) enacted the state's initial graduated
driver's licensing (GDL) system, including the six-month
learner's permit period, nighttime driving ban, and
supervised driving provisions. AB 1747 (Maze, Chapter 337,
Statutes of 2005) extended the ban on nighttime driving and
on transporting passengers under 20 years of age to 12
months. It also expanded the nighttime ban by one hour. All
states have had at least some GDL restrictions since the
mid-1990s.
3) Problem is unclear. The author states that this bill is
needed because it is likely that teen drivers need supervised
training during the wet winter months. According to the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, however, the three
months with highest teen crash rates in 2014 were June,
August, and October-not wet or snowy winter months.
Related Legislation:
SB 1223 (Huff) - expands the provisional driver's license period
from 18 to 21 years of age. This bill is also being heard in
this committee today.
AB 2322 (Chu) - requires DMV to provide the recipient of a
learner's permit with a removable and transferrable decal that
reads "student driver" and authorizes the permit holder to
display the decal on the side or rear window of the vehicle when
driving. This bill is currently pending in the Assembly
Transportation Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday,
April 13, 2016.)
SUPPORT:
None received
SCR 69 (Galgiani) Page 4 of ?
OPPOSITION:
None received
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