June 26, 2006
Graduated Driver's License:
What Parents Need to Know
By Dennis Cox
Adolescent Health Specialist
On July 1, you may hear a big sigh of relief among health practitioners in Montana. That’s the date the new graduated driver’s license (GDL) law goes into effect. The goal of the law is to reduce tragic accidents among our young people by introducing them to the dangerous world of driving just a little bit at a time.
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death and injury in the nation among adolescents aged 15 to 19. Last year in Montana, almost 6,000 teen drivers were involved in non-fatal crashes on Montana roadways.
According to a new report by the Montana Fetal Infant and Child Mortality Review, 92 children under the age of 18 died in vehicular accidents from 2001 through 2004. A teenaged driver was at the wheel in just over 38 percent of these fatalities.
The new GDL law creates a graduated licensing program for anyone under age 18 who has not been issued a driver’s license or permit before July 1. The program will allow teens to progressively develop and improve their driving skills. Ultimately, it will improve highway safety by reducing the disproportionately high incidence of motor vehicle accidents involving minors.
Under the law, new drivers under the age of 18 must take these steps to receive a license:
- Instruction Permit: The teen must hold an instruction permit for at least six months. During this period, the teen must complete a minimum of 50 hours of supervised driving (at least 10 of them at night) with a licensed parent or guardian or another licensed driver age 18 or older who is approved by the parent or guardian.
- Restricted License: After successfully completing the instruction permit requirements, the teen must get a restricted license for a minimum of a year. During this time, the teen may not drive unsupervised between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. (limited exceptions may apply).
For the first six months, the teen may have no more than one unrelated passenger under 18. For the second six months, the teen may have no more than three unrelated passengers under age 18.
- Full Privilege License: A full license is issued once the teen successfully completes the requirements of the restricted license or reaches age 18.
Law enforcement officers will issue penalties to teens caught violating the new law. Parents, too, can play an important role in increasing the safety of their teen drivers.
We recommend that parents learn more about Montana’s graduated driver’s licensing law, supervise their teen’s driving, set family driving rules and limits, and impose consequences for violations.
The State has produced a guide called “The Parent Role in Teen Driving and Graduated Driver’s Licensing in Montana.” It’s available, along with detailed information about the GDL law, on the Office of Public Instruction’s Web site: www.opi.mt.gov (enter GDL in the key word search).
The guide urges parents to:
- Require compliance with the law requiring drivers and passengers to wear seatbelts.
- Prohibit driving or riding with someone who has used alcohol or drugs.
- Require compliance with speed limits.
- Limit the number of teen passengers (in compliance with GDL limits).
- Limit unsupervised night driving (in compliance with GDL limits).
- Require a full report of driving activity. Ask where your teen is going, with whom, and when he or she will return.
- Make few exceptions. Limit driving under high risk conditions.
The guide suggests that parents set and enforce consequences that relate to losing driving privileges for serious violations, such as speeding violations, coming home late, or lying about their whereabouts.
Parents, not just law enforcement, need to hold teens accountable—for their safety and that of all Montanans.
Page last updated: 06/27/2006
