S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
4652
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 3, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HOOPER -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to providing
for a graduated license for youthful operators of motor vehicles
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 501 of the vehicle and traffic
law, as added by chapter 449 of the laws of 1989, the subdivision head-
ing and first undesignated paragraph as amended by chapter 173 of the
laws of 1990, subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) as amended by chapter
644 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
3. Restrictions on use of class DJ and class MJ licenses. A class DJ
or class MJ license shall permit the holder to operate a vehicle in
accordance with the following restrictions:
(a) in the counties of Nassau and Suffolk:
(i) for the purpose of driving to and from a state-approved cooper-
ative work-study educational program, or to or from an approved program
for credit in a post-secondary institution, or to or from a state-ap-
proved registered evening high school or while engaged in farm employ-
ment, or to or from an approved driver education course; or
(ii) from five o'clock in the morning to [nine] TEN o'clock in the
evening, to and from a place of business where the holder is regularly
employed, or when accompanied by a duly licensed parent, guardian,
person in a position of loco parentis, driver education teacher, or
driving school instructor.
(b) in all other areas of the state, except for the city of New York:
(i) from five o'clock in the morning to [nine] TEN o'clock in the
evening; or
(ii) from [nine] TEN o'clock in the evening to five o'clock in the
morning when going to or from school, or to or from a place of business
where the holder is employed on a regularly scheduled basis, or when
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08733-01-7
A. 4652 2
accompanied by a duly licensed parent, guardian or one in a position of
loco parentis to the licensee.
(c) in the city of New York, driving shall be prohibited.
(d) for the purpose of this subdivision, the term "school" shall mean
instruction, education or training licensed or approved by a department
or agency of the state or training conducted by the armed forces of the
United States except it shall not include extra-curricular activities or
social events for which scholastic credits are not given.
(e) any person operating a motor vehicle to or from school or to or
from a place of business as authorized by this subdivision must possess
documentation signed by such person's instructor or employer. The
commissioner shall, by regulation, prescribe the form and content of
such documentation.
(F) DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS IN WHICH A PERSON HOLDS SUCH A
LICENSE, HE OR SHE MAY NOT TRANSPORT ANY PASSENGER LESS THAN TWENTY
YEARS OF AGE.
§ 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 502 of the vehicle and
traffic law, as amended by chapter 215 of the laws of 2010, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) An applicant for a class D or M license shall be at least eighteen
years of age[, except that an application shall be accepted if the
applicant is at least seventeen years of age and submits acceptable
proof of successful completion of a driver education course, approved by
the state education department and the commissioner,] and proof of
completion of the minimum hours of supervised driving as required in
paragraph (d) of this subdivision.
§ 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section 502 of the vehicle and
traffic law, as amended by chapter 585 of the laws of 2002, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) Upon successful completion of the requirements set forth in para-
graph (a) of this subdivision which shall include an alcohol and drug
education component as described in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, a
"Road Rage" awareness component as described in paragraph (c-1) of this
subdivision and a "Work Zone Safety" awareness component as described in
paragraph (c-2) of this subdivision, the commissioner shall cause the
applicant to take a road test in a representative vehicle of a type
prescribed by the commissioner which shall be appropriate to the type of
license for which application is made, except that the commissioner may
waive the road test requirements for certain classes of applicants. AN
APPLICANT LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME OF RECEIPT OF A
LEARNER'S PERMIT MAY NOT TAKE A ROAD TEST UNTIL SUCH APPLICANT HAS HELD
SUCH LEARNER'S PERMIT CONTINUOUSLY FOR A PERIOD OF NINE MONTHS. AN
APPLICANT LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE MAY NOT TAKE A ROAD TEST
UNLESS THE APPLICANT'S PARENT OR GUARDIAN CERTIFIES, ON A FORM
PRESCRIBED THEREFOR BY THE COMMISSIONER, THAT THE APPLICANT HAS AT LEAST
SEVENTY-FIVE HOURS OF EXPERIENCE OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE, AT LEAST
FIFTEEN OF WHICH MUST HAVE TAKEN PLACE AFTER SUNDOWN. The commissioner
shall have the power to establish a program to allow persons other than
employees of the department to conduct road tests in representative
vehicles when such tests are required for applicants to obtain a class
A, B or C license. If HE OR she chooses to do so, HE OR she shall set
forth HIS OR her reasons in writing and conduct a public hearing on the
matter. [She] HE OR SHE shall only establish such a program after hold-
ing the public hearing.
A. 4652 3
§ 4. Subdivision 1 of section 507 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
amended by chapter 215 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as
follows:
1. Driver education. [Notwithstanding any other provisions of this
article, a class D or class M license, whichever is appropriate, may be
issued to a minor seventeen years of age who has successfully completed
a] A driver education course approved by the state education department
and the commissioner in a high school or college MAY BE CONDUCTED PURSU-
ANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION and who has submitted proof of
completion of the minimum hours of supervised driving as required in
paragraph (d) of subdivision two of section five hundred two of this
article. No such driver education course may be approved unless class-
room training is provided by a person approved by the state education
department and the commissioner. However, a school district may
contract with one or more licensed drivers' schools to provide behind
the wheel training, pursuant to regulations promulgated by the commis-
sioner. [The commissioner shall prescribe the requirements for licensing
of such minors.] A student enrolled in such an approved driver education
course may operate a motor vehicle without holding a driver's license or
a learner's permit while under the immediate supervision of an instruc-
tor in such course or a driver's school instructor providing behind the
wheel training in such a course, provided such operation is in accord-
ance with the rules established by the commissioner. [Every student who
successfully completes such course in a day, evening or summer school
program offered by a public or private school shall receive certif-
ication of such completion on a certificate prescribed by the commis-
sioner.]
§ 5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately
the commissioner of motor vehicles is authorized to promulgate any and
all rules and regulations and take any other measures necessary to
implement this act on its effective date on or before such date.