New Passenger Restrictions for
Learner Permit Holders

 

Effective August 1, home-trained 16 and 17-year-old learner’s permit holders and the parents or other adults training them will be restricted on passengers allowed in the vehicle while the permit holder is driving except when actually receiving instruction during a driving school or driver education lesson.

 

The learner’s permit holder is trained to drive through a driving school, home instruction or a combination of the two. These new restrictions apply in any situation when the learner’s permit holder is receiving any kind of training by a parent or another adult.

  • During the first six months: the learner’s permit holder may not have any passengers in the vehicle except for:
    • the permit holder’s parents or legal guardian, any of whom must have a valid motor vehicle operator's license, who is doing the training

                                               or
    • one person who is providing instruction and is at least 20 years of age or older, has held a license for four or more consecutive years prior to training and whose license has not been suspended during the four years prior to training.

NOTE: The only persons who may be in the car during the first six months is EITHER one or both parents OR an adult trainer. The exception is the specifically allotted lesson time that the permit holder is in the company of a licensed driving instructor from a commercial driving school or driver education program and for the purpose of driver training.

  • During the second six months (months seven through twelve): the permit holder may transport only members of their immediate family and the only other persons who may be in the vehicle is EITHER one or both parents OR an adult trainer.
  • As noted earlier, these restrictions do not apply during the actual time when a learner’s permit holder is receiving specific instruction from a licensed driver instructor from a commercial driving school or driver education program.

 

Failure to follow the passenger rules pertaining to learner’s permits may result in a permit revocation of the learner’s permit. Since a learner’s permit holder can never drive alone, parents, legal guardians and driving instructors as also responsible for enforcing these passenger restriction laws.

 

 

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