In an effort to limit the risks young drivers are exposed to in their first years of driving, the State of New York has enacted new laws that impose stricter limits on young drivers. The new laws, which took effect on February 22, 2010, strengthen New York's Graduated Driving Law (GDL) for drivers under the age of 21.
Motor Vehicle crashes are the number one killer of young people between the ages of 15 to 20 and the highest death rate is among 16 and 17 year old drivers. In an attempt to cut down on this death rate, forty nine states and the District of Columbia have passed Graduated Driving Laws designed to increase the driver education requirement, limit the hours that teens can drive, and eliminate deadly distractions. These laws have shown a marked effect on the teen death rates in the states where they have been enacted.
The new GDL laws passed by New York:
- Eliminate the Limited Use Junior Driver Permit – The Limited Junior License allowed drivers who took and passed their road test within six months of receiving their learner's permit to drive unaccompanied with certain restrictions based on the region of the state in which they lived. This license has been eliminated and the law now requires all drivers under the age of 18 to hold a learner's permit for at least six months before they are eligible to take the road exam and receive a Junior License.
- Increase the number of supervised driving hours before scheduling a road test – Prior to enactment of the new laws, the parents or legal guardians of teens had to certify that the teen had received at least 2o hours of supervised driving experience in order to take the road test. The new law requires that parents or legal guardians of teens under the age of 18 certify that their teen has received a minimum of 50 hour of driving experience with at least 15 of those hours occurring after sunset.
- Reduce the number of non-family passengers from two to one – Under the old law, teens were limited to carrying two non-family passengers. The new law cuts the number of non-family member passengers to one for all drivers under the age of 21.
Another New York law that took effect in November 2009, made it illegal to text or to use any portable electronic device while the vehicle is in motion. This law applies to drivers of all ages in the State of New York.