New Connecticut Teen Driving Laws
In a ceremony at Conard High School in West Hartford this afternoon, Governor M. Jodi Rell signed a bill into law that tightens restrictions on teen drivers and levies tougher penalties for teens who violate the rules of the road. The bill, spearheaded by Governor Rell, toughens restrictions and penalties, rolls back the evening curfew for teen drivers and provides for more on-the-road training of teen drivers.
“We have lost far too many irreplaceable young lives in recent years,” Governor Rell said. “What makes these terrible tragedies on our roads even harder to bear is that every single one is avoidable. This new law will strengthen our legal tools for training and protecting young drivers, and I believe it will help to save lives. Connecticut will now have some of the strongest graduated driving licensing regulations in the country.”
So, what does the new Connecticut Teen Driving Law mean for you?
- Drivers under 18 must be off the road by 11 p.m., one hour earlier than now; exceptions are allowed for jobs, school and religious reasons.
- Parents must attend two hours of instruction on teen-driving laws before a child takes his or her license test.
- Fines are increased for certain moving violations and for violations of the passenger restriction, the curfew restriction and for cell phone violations.
- On-road training is doubled, from 20 hours to 40 hours, for teens getting learner's permits after August 1.
- Penalties are increased for teen drivers' passengers not wearing seat belts.
- Suspension periods are increased for 16- and 17-year-olds for reckless driving and motor vehicle racing. (Suspension of six months for the first offense.)
- License suspensions are established for speeding (60 days) and for use of cell phones (30 days) by 16- and 17-year-olds.
- Teens who violate provisions of the graduated license rules would lose their privileges for 30 days.
- To regain a suspended license, the 16- or 17-year-old and his parent or legal guardian must appear in person at the police department, state police barracks, or other designated location and sign a written acknowledgement of its return.
“I thank all the members of my Teen Driving Task Force,” Governor Rell said. “They did the leg work and the research, held the meetings, listened to the public’s ideas and made recommendations. I commend the legislature for this bipartisan effort."
“I also thank the public for providing our task force with valuable input during the statewide forums. You shared stories about your loved ones. You spoke of personal tragedies that could have been prevented. You had a major impact in crafting this law.”
The law, HB-5748, “An Act Concerning Teenage Drivers,” takes effect August 1, 2008.
For more information please visit:
http://www.ct.gov/teendriving/cwp/view.asp?Q=413528&A=3369
Labels: Connecticut, Governor M. Jodi Rell, Teen Driving
posted by LGS at 10:21 PM
15 Comments:
Absolutely ridiculous, and more confirmation that apparently any law can be passed so long as it's "for the children." Parents have to take a 2-hour "class" before their children can get a license? Pure BS. What next? I'm sick and tired of the govt passing laws that continuously ratchet requirements up for all because of the irresponsibility of a small few.
Agreed, it's completely ridiculous.
if you feel this is ridiculous maby two is to much for you to spend on your child maybe a long parenting class would help
this is absolutely ridiculous! if teens get their license suspended for that long, then they wont be able to learn and prove that they can drive correctly. they will only be a burden on other to drive them for that amount of time. and if a teen gets their license suspended, then they will be more likely to drive with one of their friends who hasn't had their license for long enough.
do these laws count for teens who already have their lisence and are under 18
teens are still going to be out past 11 a little ridiculous for someone whos 17 whos curfew is deffinetly past 11 also suspending a license for 30 days for a cell phone should apply to more than just teens if u really care about this law if it applies to teens it should applyy to all the seatbelt increase is dumb as well so many adults dont wear one and its law so start penalizing them more harshly dont target teens and think adults dont play the bigger part in connecticuts driving issues
it crazy how all these lasw are being push to teen drivers
The 11:00 curfew law is ridiculous because i have a child who babysits sometimes till 1 in the morning and she drives herself home afterwards.
hey guys quick question...i herd if you are under 18 and after you get the new permit you have to wait 1 year later to get ur license..is this true..?
thanks
Well i agree that some of the laws are a little over the top. But they just dont want reckless drivers everywhere. We should appreciate these laws expecially us teenagers. They keep us safe:)
The suspension for 48 hours is a seizure of the licence, not a suspension. Suspension for 30 days comes later when DMV Dept. of Driver Services dictates. So, the 30 day suspension starts when this overlord says it does. You can get a hardship to go to and from work, but not to go to or from school. One can only contact this Driver Services Division by mail and they only answer by mail with their verdict. Also, be two weeks in advance with your mail requests. There is no phone number to call - mail only.
We want to teach our kids to take Responsibilities and become members of our society but these laws teach them anarchey. This stuff is to burdensome on our society.
There is a lot of problems with these new CT driving laws.
Take a look at floridas laws, u must pass two tests to get a permit, one a road test and one a sign test. You must hold your permit for a whole year (I had my permit for 5 months and im a pretty good driver, imagine what another 7 months would do). There are then no passenger restrictions. 16 year old curfew = 12 - 6 a.m. 17 year old curfew = 1- 5 a.m. Drivers ed is mandatory and 50 hours of driving must be logged. These laws are much more thought out.
I also know kids that are just going to wait till they are 18 to get their license because they are discouraged by these new laws. These drivers will be loosing almost 2 years of expierence. There is going to be some really good drivers in CT the next few years (sarcasm).
Personally i wouldnt mind one passenger in the car for the first 3 months or no passengers on the highway for the first 3 months. There are much better options then what CT is trying to do.
This will also drive more people out of Connecticut. I'm leaving in one year :).
Wow this state is pathetic. Seeing as though parents really need to waste their time to sit in a two hour class with their children learning stuff that they already know, that the children should learn on their own is complete bull. Yes, a parent should be able to give up two hours of their time, but is it necessary when parents have other things to take care of? such as work, bills, cleaning, and that of their own driving abilities. I think every single law this state has made over the last few years is ridiculous. When your 16 you should be considered able to do things without parental consent as well. you should be able to work without limitations and drive without curfews. No matter what age you are, you will still get into accidents, still make stupid decisions, still need the same amount of driving experience (only if you had not learned yet), but it is all the same. 16 and up should be able to drive whoever the hell they want to, regardless of their age. If you are able to drive, get out of the house, and work like an "adult" as i should say, then you should be able to have the same fairness as an adult to. The people expecting to change laws to you need to be 18 or whatever to drive are stupid, all that does is bring up the age, age is just a number, it doesn't change your actions, even an 18 yr old could make the same mistakes as a 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 yr old. Just like in the drinking laws, it changed from 18 to 21..does it really matter? Age is just a number- it honestly has nothing to do with anything. Just like in statutory rape- i believe if a 16 yr old is with a person who is 4yrs older then her/him, they should be allowed to date without parental consent, without DCF getting involved, without it being illegal- if it is rape then obviously the younger person didn't want the sex but how is it rape if the person wanted it? DUH. I cant wait to move to Florida. Sorry this stuff pisses me off.
this is absolutly rediculous all of these new laws that they are putting on teens. It makes teens want to rebel against the laws instead of follow them. I can see the laws being strict for a reason i get that, but you right now are basically upping the age to get your "real" lisence to 18 years old. & holding your licsence for a year basically till you can have ONE friend in the car is rediculous. i could see 3 months or maybe after the 6 months but a year like come on NO ONE IS GOING TO FOLLOW THAT.
Cry me a frickin river to all of you parents who think a formal driving class for your kid and a 2 hour class for you is a waste of your time. Shame on you for being so irresponsible to not want to know the new laws and be able to enforce them before your kid ends up in the Emergency Room with their friends as TRAUMA's!!!
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