Virginia
Deaths in Crashes Involving Teen Drivers in Virginia
In 2010, 107 people were killed in crashes involving teen drivers in Virginia. Over the past five years, Virginia crashes involving teen drivers claimed 765 lives. Nationally, since 2000, more than 85,000 people have been killed in crashes involving teen drivers.
Graduated Driver Licensing Laws in Virginia
The current GDL law in Virginia includes the following components:
- A three-stage licensing system beginning at age 15 years and 6 months for learner’s permit, age 16 years and 3 months for the intermediate stage, and age 18 for full licensure
- A mandatory 9 month holding period for the learner’s permit stage
- A minimum of 45 hours of supervised practice driving during the learner’s permit stage, at least 15 of which must be at night
- A prohibition on unsupervised nighttime driving between midnight and 4 a.m. during the intermediate stage (secondary enforcement)
- A passenger restriction prohibiting more than one passenger younger than age 18 for the first twelve months after licensure and prohibiting more than three passengers younger than age 18 for the remainder of the intermediate stage (secondary enforcement)
- A prohibition on non-emergency use of hand-held and hands-free cell phones for drivers younger than age 18 (secondary enforcement)
- A prohibition on texting while driving for all drivers (secondary enforcement)
These changes are needed to improve Virginia’s GDL law and meet the requirements of the STANDUP Act
- Require age 16 for entry into the learner’s permit stage
- Strengthen the passenger restriction to prohibit more than one non-familial passenger under the age of 21 unless a licensed driver over age 21 is in the vehicle, for the entire intermediate stage through age 17
For more information and to contact your state representative, please visit: http://legis.state.va.us/.
To contact your Member of Congress about the STANDUP Act, S. 528 / H.R. 1515, please visit: http://www.capitolconnect.com/saferoads4teens/
