TEEN DRIVERS BEAT NEW LAW; MINORS MOB DMVS BEFORE DEADLINE.

Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer

Thousands of nervous teens crammed into DMV offices throughout Los Angeles and the state Tuesday, poring over test questions as they withstood long lines in a race to gain their driving permits before a new restrictive law goes into effect today.

The new California teen licensing program extends from 30 days to six months the amount of time a 16- or 17-year-old driver must hold a permit before obtaining a full-fledged license.

Those who fall under the new law will have to log in 50 hours of supervised driving time, including 10 hours at night.

Also under the new law, for the first year they hold a driver license, minor drivers will have to be accompanied by a parent or guardian when driving between midnight and 5 a.m.

The upward spike in permit applications reached a fever pitch Tuesday, with lines stretching around the outside perimeter of Department of Motor Vehicles offices.

``It's all over the state,'' said Evan Nossoff, a DMV spokesman. ``We've called out all our contingency staff.''

DMV officials said teen license applications jumped sharply as today's starting date for the new restrictions approached.

Some 130,000 teens applied for licenses between November 1997 and May of this year, an increase of 24 percent over the year before. In May alone, the last month for which figures were available, applications for provisional licenses were up 34 percent from May 1997, officials said.

A DMV representative at a North Hollywood telephone appointment bureau that serves the San Fernando Valley and neighboring areas said Tuesday that his office had been handling nearly 10,000 calls a day recently, far more than normal, because of the teen rush on permits.

He had 14 people backed up waiting to talk to him Tuesday afternoon, but said time had run out for the teen-agers.

At the Winnetka DMV office, part-time workers were called in at the last minute to handle lines that stretched nearly around the entire building at the 8 a.m. opening time.

``There's too many people. We were very, very busy,'' said Blanche Alfi, a motor vehicle field representative at the Winnetka office. ``The test area is jammed full of teens. They can't even move. There's not enough space. I'm putting people in the corners and wherever I can. . . . God knows when we'll leave.''

At the DMV office in Palmdale, the number of teen-agers has been running about 25 percent higher than usual the last two days before the deadline, manager Cindi Alvarado said. Teens made up about one-quarter of the 100 or so people waiting in line or taking tests at midafternoon Tuesday.

``I just might as well keep my dad in the car,'' 16-year-old Nichole Bechtel of Palmdale said of the new restrictions. ``If my dad was going to be in the car, he might as well drive.''

As he stood in line at the Winnetka office with his daughter, Susan Lang, 16, of Reseda, parent Tim Lang, a school bus driver, said he supports the more stringent laws.

``They have a lot more peer pressure - now it's like, Hey buddy, let's go get a drink,'' he said.

With the new law aimed at reducing the number of teen road deaths, California today joined 21 other states across the country in toughening teen driving laws.

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds who obtained their permits before today are not affected by the restrictions. This also applies to those who paid for the $12 permit by Tuesday, but have not yet passed the test, Alfi said.

Many students in line poring over test questions Tuesday lashed out at the new law.

``I'm getting a job and I don't want to have to worry about when I can drive,'' said Kim Athans, 16, of Woodland Hills. ``Society is getting more controlling of our rights. . . . Some senior citizens don't even know how to drive, yet they let people like that drive around. I think it's prejudice.''

Payam Banifazl, 16, of Woodland Hills, who scrambled at the last minute to obtain his permit Tuesday, said he understands the intent of the law.

``When you're under 20, you're still not that experienced. It may make you cause an accident,'' Banifazl said, adding that he will be sure to drive by himself or with only one friend so as to avoid distractions. ``You may not concentrate on the road, plus you could kill people.''

According to the Western Insurance Information Service, a nonprofit consumer education organization, a similar program in Canada has been credited with a 55 percent reduction in fatalities involving 16-year-olds.

DRIVING RESTRICTIONS

-- Teens must hold permits for six months before they taking the test for their license.

-- Teens must have 50 hours of supervised driving time, including 10 hours at night.

-- For the first year they hold a driver's license, minor drivers will have to be accompanied by a parent or guardian when driving between midnight and 5 a.m.

-- For the first six months, teen drivers cannot transport passengers under 20 years of age, unless supervised.

Daily News Staff Writer Paul Hefner contributed to this story.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

Photo: (Color) Running the gamut of teen-age fashion, youths pack the Glendale motor vehicles office Tuesday to apply for driving permits.

Phil McCarten/Daily News

Box: DRIVING RESTRICTIONS (See Text)