New Law Boosts Minimum Age for Instruction Permit to Fifteen-and-a-Half; Goes into Effect in Two Weeks.

News Editors/Feature Editors/Automotive Writers

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 18, 2003

Starting January first, teens will have to be fifteen-and-one-half years old to apply for an instruction driving permit in California. That's because the legislature approved a measure (AB 1343) which ensures that minors begin their driving practice on streets and highways only after receiving adequate classroom instruction in the rules of the road and the safe operation of a vehicle. The bill was proposed by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and carried by Assemblyman Todd Spitzer of Orange, Calif.

Currently, teens who are fifteen years of age can get a "certificate of simultaneous enrollment" showing they have enrolled in a combined driver ed (classroom) and driver training (behind the wheel) course and get behind the wheel immediately. That provision was put into law years ago to accommodate public schools when most were still offering driver training. The schools simply had the entire sophomore class get a permit at the start of the school year so all students would be ready to start their practice driving when space in training cars became available. However, public schools no longer offer behind the wheel training because of budgetary and insurance issues.

As a result, the accommodation for fifteen-year-olds has outlived its usefulness and this provision was now seen as not being in the best interests of traffic safety. That's because some young permit holders were getting behind the wheel without having any classroom instruction on the basic rules of the road.

In reality, most teens don't get their instruction permits until they are fifteen-and-a-half anyway, because most wait to complete a driver education class before applying. Students who successfully complete driver education are given certificates which are then submitted to DMV to prove they successfully completed their in-classroom instruction.

In addition, AB 1343 officially recognizes so-called "integrated" driver education programs, in which a portion of the classroom instruction is provided and then reinforced through specific behind-the-wheel training before students move to the next phase of the driver education and training.

AB 1343 also allows DMV the discretion to issue a driver education instructor's license to a person who is otherwise qualified but, because of a physical disability, is unable to hold a driver's license.