A new Californian law has come into effect at the turn of the new year, placing teen driver's under curfew. Teens who have held their licence for less than a year are not allowed to drive between 11pm and 5am, according to the law.
Also, they are only able to drive with young passengers in the car if an adult is also present. The law was passed after it was found that inexperienced teen drivers were more at risk during the nighttime hours.
Similar measures are being considered in other US states, as well as in some European countries.
why not just make the driving test harder, or drivers ed better? there are too many bad drivers out there and they're not just teenagers. you either need to make them better or keep their license from them. why not limit the hours old people are allowed to drive too if you're going to generalize and do this to minors? i think the law makers are taking advantage of those not old enough to vote, and getting alot of support for it.
As a parent with a teenager that is about to drive, I'm all for this. Less distraction by friends, and being off the road early will help get them experience under their belt without as many accidents. Now if they would just make cell phones illegal to talk on while driving we would all be safer.
i think that curfew goes for my state to i live in maryland and i think they wont let teens drive between 12am-5am i think but it doesnt matter to me because im not a teen anymore. im 20 so i could drive at anytime i want to
this law came in to affect where im live right before i got my license, so it didn't affect me, im 20 now so itz fine anyway...but anyways, this law won't work really, police can't just pull u over for no reason, they gonna just start stoppin radom drivers who seem to b teenagers who haven't had there license a year?? and THEN, what if your 19 & just got your license...how would they know, i kno here they only got a Under 21 & over 21 license, theres no Less than 1 year version...lol
A cop doesn't even need to call in or use his computer to find out when you were first licensed - at least in California. For those with California licenses, look at the very bottom of you license, and you shall see a date there.
I live in Alberta, CA and we have a similar law. Back in 2003 our provincial government created 2 types of licenses. A beginner level one and a regular one. Regardless of age you had to hold the beginner license for 2 years and then you must take a 2nd road test (1 hour long) to achieve a full license. There is a curfew on new drivers REGARDLESS of age.
Think about it your 16 and some old guy(s) (who some of you reported shouldn't b driving, INCLUDES THEM) that now you can't drive between certain hours, so now if I was 16 and I'm sure a lot of young teens who become voting age next election will get their vengence as will all the teens it affects, they will remember who was for it and make sure they don't get their vote. I'm not privvy to all your past backround in driving but I've been driving since I was 14 in NY I've driven pickups dump trucks, trailers, komatsu pay loader, tractor pay loaders, atv's and regular card and my dads lincoln navigator (before he sold it years later) so not every kid had zero experience, I think their should be more hrs for kids and a lot of instructors are bordering on beeing geezer age to drive that we all complained about but no politician would commite political suicide saying the elderly can't drive, but they seem to forget that the youth will come back in force in just two years so why piss them off? Cause they get you elected (if your against what the last idiot did to them) or losing re-election if you banked on only adults. As crazy as some of our youth are they r getting politcally active and they won't stand by and take this lightly.... If they remember after getting high... =P I was kidding LOL
P.s. They might as well constrict a teen who has a bartender license to not be allowed to work at a bar until 21 lol cause in NY u can be 18 and bartender license, but no one takes a greenhorn
USA? ie have to be 21? That law would be torn to shreads so fast in Australia (18 being hte drinking age), and it has every time it has been brought up. Here you 'generally' get 4-5 mates going out, with one being the designated driver. If they made it so teens could not drive people under 20 around, you would find either a lot of 'criminals' driving ppl around (for their own saftey) or a hell of a lot of drink drivers. I agree with an above poster, dont peanilise people who have their licence, make the testing process harder and the training process better, and the punishment for screwing up more severe. Only then will people have the skills, and the caution to drive properly. Right now (at least in aus) its far to easy to get your licence. My on road test lasted 8 minutes. The theory test is a joke, common sense stuff and a few technical laws, and only 30 questions in all. And if you screw up its only a few hundread doller fine (unless you kill someone).
I'm in CA, and it has been about 10 years since my driving test, but when I was doing it, the driving instructor got in the car and said to me "As long as you don't hit anything, you will pass."
I can honestly say, when I got my license I wasn't ready for it, my driving skills were nowhere near good enough.
So yeah, make the driving test harder.
Oh and ssxxxssssss, in CA, if you fail the test (as long as you didn't like kill someone), to take the test again it costs 6 bucks. And the written test is about the same, with around 30 or 45 questions.
Who are you kidding? These kids aren't goint to vote. If they do, it'll be by accidentental arm spasm. Fact is, this is a great law. New York has it for around 9pm for permit drivers and drivers under 18 (I believe..). I don't even think a kid fresh out of puberty that can barely wear a pare of jeans correctly should be driving a machine capable of going over 100mph. And to the other comments above about better classes and harder tests, I agree with that as well. We have a lot of drivers in this country and not many of them know how to do any thing but turn key, press gas.
p.s. Old folks? Yea, they're just as bad. I'm all for mandatory testing after certain ages.
I live in california. I am about to turn 21. When I turned 16 in 2001 and got my license, this same law was in effect. It is a stupid law. Everyone I know disobeyed it, including myself. I got pulled over for being suspiscous (smoking on the side of the road), and I got in trouble because someone under 18 was in my car. THIS IS NOT A NEW LAW......it must have simply been renewed or something. It even stated on the back of my license both of these things for the first year.
Anyway, for the record, parents can be "all for this," but it accomplishes absolutely nothing. NOTHING.
well all that was done this year was change the restricted hours of driving from 12-5am to 11pm-5am. They are also retroactively enforcing this for anybody who got their license after Jan. 1 2005, and for anybody who gets their license after Jan. 1 2006.
Just what we need is another law we don't enforce. Try getting the tailgaters, the reckless drivers, the fools that sit in the passing lane, those going 85 and over and a myrad of other lawbreakers off the road. We can debate over new laws and how nice they would be all day long and it would still be a road filled with idiots. We can blame the kids the old people and the blind and all I can say is that I lived in Florida and if you got killed by an old man who ran up on the sidewalk and mowed ya down well at least the old man had an excuse- "he couldn't see you." End of rant
By banning them from driving at specific times, people actually think this will teach teens to be responsible and gain driving experience? What a joke.
By making it illegal for them to drive at a certain time, particularly a time when teens who go out on the weekends, your just encouraging and forcing them to take risks that they shouldnt be taking.
In SA(Aus), the learners test(theory)has been made harder. When they get onto their P plates, they have to do a computerised simulation test. I think its a 100% pass thing too. If they pass it, they are no longer required to have thier P plates up in the car.
If you ask me, the whole idea of a theory test for something that is a 'practical' task, is completely ridiculous, and is a contributing factor to so many teens being in accidents and worse.
Before they can even drive on thier own, they should have been behind the wheel with an instructor for 6 months. Whats the point of doing a test? They all cheat on it anyway, not to mention the guy/gal at the desk always allow people to correct a wrong answer or two to pass, AFTER giving the correct answer away with hints.
You can even raise the age to 18, 19, 20, or 21. End of the day, if someone is going to speed and take a risk in a car, they will no matter the age.
"The law was passed after it was found that inexperienced teen drivers were more at risk during the nighttime hours."
so its only dark between 11pm and 5am eh? So the drivers common sense leaves them at 10-59pm does it?
So they're not at more risk during adverse weather condition hhmm? Perhaps we should ban them from driving in the rain or snow also or perhaps if it gets a bit cold and the roads are a bit slippy. Pah!
A bad driver will display these traits at any time not just at night. If the police were allowed to enforce existing laws on speeding, reckless and dangerous driving then that would make safer roads instead of nanny state laws. Now go to bed like good little children its past your bedtime.
ITS BULLSH*T AND EVERYONE KNOWS ITS. ok so great, new laws that the idiots at the capital passed. they think this is going to solved teen driving problems. well think again, all its going to do is flood juvenile courts in every county of california with useless tickets. the amount of tickets will more than double. Knowing our goverment, it's most likely a conspiracy to get CA out of debt because they know that if they toughen some laws up that means more fines which is more money to the government. I LOVE OUR COUNRTY, SO HONEST. ANOTHER POINT IS THAT WELL, US BEING TEEN DRIVERS MEANS WERE EITHER 16 OR 17, COUPLE MORE YEARS AND WE WILL BE VOTING YOU BASTARDS AND WE WILL GET OUR VENGENCE. YOU HEAR THAT GOVERNATOR AND EVERY BASTARD WHO VOTED FOR THIS LAW. OH AND ALMOST FORGOT I LOVE HOW THEY PUT OUT THESE BOGUS STATISTICS ON TEEN DRIVING OUT TO THE PUBLIC WHEN THE GOVERNMENT OF CA IS FUNDING THE COMPANIES THAT ARE PUTTING OUT THE STATS. HMMM....SOUNDS LIKES LIKE SOMEONES PAID OFF TO FABRICATE RESULTS. SOUND FAMILAR IN OUR LOVELY HISTORY?
IF THERE GOING TO MAKE ALL THESE PATHETIC LAWS THEN JUST FRICKEN MAKE IT SO YOU CANT GET YOUR LICENSE TIL YOUR 18 ALREADY. I MEAN COME ON , WHATS 2007 GOING TO BE LIKE---TEEN DRIVERS FOR THE FIRST 2 YEARS CANNOT DRIVER FURTHER THAN 100 FEET FROM THERE HOUSE AND CANNOT GO OVER 15 MPH.
Just what we need is another law we don't enforce. Try getting the tailgaters, the reckless drivers, the fools that sit in the passing lane, those going 85 and over and a myrad of other lawbreakers off the road. We can debate over new laws and how nice they would be all day long and it would still be a road filled with idiots. We can blame the kids the old people and the blind and all I can say is that I lived in Florida and if you got killed by an old man who ran up on the sidewalk and mowed ya down well at least the old man had an excuse- "he couldn't see you." End of rant
