Under the provisions of the bill, teens must hold an instruction permit for a period of six months before applying for a provisional license, rather than the current 30 day period. In addition, before a 16 year old is granted a provisional license, his or her parent or guardian must certify that their teen has spent a minimum of 50 hours of supervised practice behind the wheel. Current law already requires a parent or guardian to certify that their teen underwent supervised driving practice. SB 1329 specifies a minimum number of hours of this driving practice, 10 of which must be during darkness.

The legislation also imposes driving restrictions on teens. For the first 6 months after obtaining the provisional license, the teen driver cannot transport other teenage passengers in the car unless accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 25 years of age. For the first 12 months after obtaining the provisional license, the teen driver cannot drive between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. unless accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 25 years of age.

The legislation contains exemptions to the night time driving restriction for work, school, medical and family reasons. In addition, the family exception allows teens to carry family member passengers. (Operative: July 1, 1998)