Lawmakers Shorten the Time for Teenagers to Move from Learner’s License to Provisional License – Citizens Concerned

North Carolina has a 25-year-old law for issuing driving licenses to teenagers. The three-step graduated licensing for drivers has been essential in preventing several road accidents and other driving-related incidents in the state.

According to the law, there are three stages in which teens under 18 can obtain a license in the state. First, they need to get a learner’s permit after passing an education course. After this, they can get a limited provisional license as long as they have driven under supervision for more than 60 hours over a period of 12 months and are able to pass a road test. With this limited provisional license, the teens are allowed to drive unsupervised between 5 AM to 9 PM or while driving to work or volunteering for fire or EMS service.

Teens with a limited provisional license can obtain a full provisional license after 6 months, as long as they clock in 12 hours of supervised driving. The full provisional license comes with fewer restrictions than the limited provisional license.

The above-mentioned procedure has been functional for about 25 years since the 1990s and has been optimal for granting licenses. However, a recent bill decreases the time to require a limited provisional license for teenagers. As per the new bill, teens with a learner’s permit can obtain a limited provisional license after 9 months instead of 12, although they still need to log in 60 hours of supervised driving within this period.

People from different departments of road safety as well as many Greensboro car accident lawyers are concerned about the effects of this new law. They believe the system, which has been working well for 25 years, must not be tinkered with. Although the new law pleases teenagers and parents, it does put the lives of pedestrians and civilians in danger.

The new bill is Senate Bill 157, and different people have spoken for and against it. For instance, Natalie O’Brien, a researcher at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center in Chapel Hill, said, “Three months may not seem like much, but lawmakers are tinkering with a system that has helped prevent countless teen crashes, injuries, and deaths.” However, she also believed that relaxing the laws might be detrimental to the public’s safety.

On the other hand, Republican Sen. Vickie Sawyer of Iredell County was of the opposite belief. According to her, the state responded to requests made by parents and teenagers. She further said that the decrease in the amount of time would not significantly impact the citizens’ safety. According to her, the new law will simply bring North Carolina more in line with states such as South Carolina and Virginia. According to her, several other states have a 6 to 9 months gap between issuing the learner’s permit and the limited provisional license. Thus, the number is arbitrary.

Gov. Roy Cooper did not sign the bill but allowed the bill to be passed without his signature. He said, “For years, NC’s graduated drivers’ license process has significantly improved safety for all motorists. However, this legislation passed by a large margin because it should help reduce the waiting time for young people wanting their license.” However, he also mentioned, “I have concerns that this law could make our roads less safe, and I encourage the Division of Motor Vehicles and the legislature to monitor its effects closely.”

Overall, the duration decrease seems arbitrary, but monitoring the effects and results of such changes in the law will be crucial. Thus, governing bodies must ensure such laws do not encourage more irresponsible behavior among teenagers and ensure the safety of the citizens.