A few months ago, I saw an ad in several newspapers and magazines sponsored by Allstate Insurance Company. The headline shouted: "Last year, nearly 5,000 teens died in car crashes. Making it safer for a teen to be in a war zone than on a highway."
The ad supports enactment of a federal law directed at teenage drivers. It's called The Standup Act (H.R. 1895), and it limits nighttime driving, reduces in-car distractions, puts a cap on the number of friends in the car, increases the required hours of driver training and supervision for teens. The ad mentioned that states which have implemented graduated driver licensing laws have seen motor vehicle fatalities among teens decrease. Allstate has put its money where its mouth is and has initiated a public-awareness campaign, "Action against Distraction."
I am glad to say that Virginia has been in the forefront of the movement towards graduated drivers' licenses for teens. Over the past eleven years, Virginia has enacted laws restricting or penalizing drivers under age 19 in a variety of ways. Most recently, a 2007 amendment to Va. Code Section 46.2-334.01 prohibited young drivers from operating a moving motor vehicle while using cell phones or other wireless telecommunications devices, hand-held or not, except in a driver emergency.
Some years prior to that, Virginia adopted a comprehensive graduated licensing law. Now, persons under age 18 can obtain only a provisional driver's license. Until the holder of a provisional driver's license turns 18 or he has held a license for more than one year, he cannot drive a motor vehicle while carrying more than one passenger. Thereafter, he can carry no more than three underage passengers until he turns 18 years old. The passenger limitation does not apply while the young driver carries certain members of his family or household.
In Virginia, young persons with provisional driver's licenses face further restrictions. They cannot operate a motor vehicle on the highway between midnight and 4:00 am unless (1) they are accompanied by a parent, by someone acting in loco parentis [that is, a person acting in the place of a parent], or by a spouse older than 18 who is sitting next to them; (2) they are driving to or from their place of employment; or (3) they are driving to or from a school-sponsored activity. There are some limited exceptions to this law in cases of emergency.
Young people under 19 who hold learner's permits or provisional drivers' licenses are also subject to special penalties such as driver license suspension or license revocation if they are convicted of certain traffic offenses more than once while they are under the age of 19.
If you have a teenager in your household, you will want to familiarize yourself with all aspects of the law and discuss it thoroughly your teenager.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of another person's negligence, contact Cuthbert Law Offices or call us at (804) 733-3100 (Petersburg) or (804) 643-3100 (Richmond).
The ad supports enactment of a federal law directed at teenage drivers. It's called The Standup Act (H.R. 1895), and it limits nighttime driving, reduces in-car distractions, puts a cap on the number of friends in the car, increases the required hours of driver training and supervision for teens. The ad mentioned that states which have implemented graduated driver licensing laws have seen motor vehicle fatalities among teens decrease. Allstate has put its money where its mouth is and has initiated a public-awareness campaign, "Action against Distraction."
I am glad to say that Virginia has been in the forefront of the movement towards graduated drivers' licenses for teens. Over the past eleven years, Virginia has enacted laws restricting or penalizing drivers under age 19 in a variety of ways. Most recently, a 2007 amendment to Va. Code Section 46.2-334.01 prohibited young drivers from operating a moving motor vehicle while using cell phones or other wireless telecommunications devices, hand-held or not, except in a driver emergency.
Some years prior to that, Virginia adopted a comprehensive graduated licensing law. Now, persons under age 18 can obtain only a provisional driver's license. Until the holder of a provisional driver's license turns 18 or he has held a license for more than one year, he cannot drive a motor vehicle while carrying more than one passenger. Thereafter, he can carry no more than three underage passengers until he turns 18 years old. The passenger limitation does not apply while the young driver carries certain members of his family or household.
In Virginia, young persons with provisional driver's licenses face further restrictions. They cannot operate a motor vehicle on the highway between midnight and 4:00 am unless (1) they are accompanied by a parent, by someone acting in loco parentis [that is, a person acting in the place of a parent], or by a spouse older than 18 who is sitting next to them; (2) they are driving to or from their place of employment; or (3) they are driving to or from a school-sponsored activity. There are some limited exceptions to this law in cases of emergency.
Young people under 19 who hold learner's permits or provisional drivers' licenses are also subject to special penalties such as driver license suspension or license revocation if they are convicted of certain traffic offenses more than once while they are under the age of 19.
If you have a teenager in your household, you will want to familiarize yourself with all aspects of the law and discuss it thoroughly your teenager.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of another person's negligence, contact Cuthbert Law Offices or call us at (804) 733-3100 (Petersburg) or (804) 643-3100 (Richmond).
Labels: motor vehicle accidents