LEGAL CONCERNS OF TEENS OPERATING MOTOR VEHICLES

WHEN CAN I APPLY FOR A LIMITED INSTRUCTION DRIVER'S PERMIT, COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS A LEARNER'S PERMIT, TO LEGALLY OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE?

—> While some states allow you to apply for a learner's permit when you are fifteen (15), in Rhode Island, you must be sixteen (16) years of age to be an applicant. Courts have found that not allowing people under the age of sixteen 916) to drive a car does NOT violate any constitutional laws prohibiting age discriminatory treatment by the government. (99)

Anyone between the ages of sixteen (16) and eighteen (18) may apply to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) for a limited instruction permit. After you have completed a state approved driver's education instructional program and passed an exam testing you on your driving skills, you may be granted a permit. Driving is considered a legal privilege and not a legal right. You must obey the rules, once you receive your permit that you will only drive with a supervising driver seated beside you in the front seat of the while it is in motion.(100)

After you have held a limited instruction permit for six (6) months, you may obtain a limited provisional license if you have not been convicted of a motor vehicle moving violation or seat belt infraction during those six (6) months and you have passed the road test. The General Assembly recently amended the law to also include a night driving requirement. A person under the age of eighteen (18) seeking a provisional license must also produce a statement signed by a parent or guardian that the applicant has fifty (50) hours of experience, with ten (10) of those hours at night, driving with a supervising driver.(101)

When you are seventeen (17) years of age, you may apply for a full operator's license if you have held a limited instructional and a provisional license for twelve (12) months, or six (6) months each. If you have already reached your eighteenth (18th) birthday, the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) may provide you with a temporary driver's permit which allows you to operate a car while the DMV is completing its investigation and determination of facts regarding your qualifications for a full operator's license.(102)

HOW DO I OBTAIN COVERAGE UNDER ANAUTO INSURANCE POLICY AS A MINOR WHO OTHERWISE DOES NOT HAVE THE LEGAL ABILITY TO ENTER A BINDING CONTRACT WITH A THIRD PARTY?

—> Rhode Island requires that you have insurance coverage. It is mandatory (required) and is not a choice or option. You must be able to prove that you are responsible for the economic costs of injuries if you are in a car accident. You can br added as an insured driver under your parents' household policy if you are living with your parents. An adult can also co-sign your application for car insurance and serve as a guarantor for your own policy. If you need your own insurance policy, you must obtain an identification (ID) card from the DMV, as well as provide your Social Security number, a birth certificate and ten dollars ($10.00).(103)

In 2003, new rules for all applicants were added. The DMV changed identification requirements for new driver's licenses requiring that all applicants must provide one (1) document from each of three (3) categories: 1.) Identity documents (such as a birth or baptismal certificate from a church in the United States; 2.) Signature documents (Social Security card, work, or school ID); and 3.) Proof of Residency documents (for minors this could include your school records or a parent's license with the same address as yours).

Obviously, you must have passed the driver's education program and satisfied other licensing requirements to qualify for a car insurance policy.

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CAR OWNERSHIP IF I AM ABLE TO BUY MY OWN CAR?

—> You must register your car with the DMV and have proof of your insurance policy to register your car. You must have your car inspected for safety purposes. A sticker will be placed on your car to prove that it has been inspected by a state authorized inspector. Fees for inspections vary with the type of car you own.(104)

CAN THE STATE DENY MY APPLICATION FOR OR REVOKE (TAKE AWAY)  MY LICENSE IF I AM ADJUDICATED (COURT DETERMINED)A DELINQUENT OR WAYWARD YOUTH?

—> Yes. If you are found by the Family Court to be delinquent or wayward, as previously discussed in this Handbook in CHAPTER ONE, the court can send to the DMV within twenty-four (24) hours of the determination of delinquency or waywardness, an order denying or revoking your driving privileges. You may also be required to perform up to one hundred (100) hours of community service. You may also be ordered to make restitution(that is, payment of money), to the victim and to the state of Rhode Island. If you fail to make court ordered restitution, ordered as a result of that adjudication, the court may command DMV to revoke your license until you have completed the requirements of the restitution order.(105)

Regarding your operating privileges of boats, vessels, or other watercraft, see CHAPTER EIGHT of this Handbook.