Introduction
Driver License Requirements
in California For Applicants under 18.
The laws listed below apply to applicants for California Driver License who are under 18 years of age.
Instruction Permit Requirements
The first step in obtaining a provisional license is to obtain an instruction permit. To obtain a provisional instruction permit you must:
Be at least 15 1/2, but under 18 years of age.
Fill out the DMV application form (DL 44).
Obtain your parents' or guardians' signatures on the application form.
Present an acceptable birth date/legal presence document.
Present the DMV Certificate showing that you have completed driver education and present DMV Form showing that you are enrolled in driver education and driver training during the same semester.
To drive mopeds or motorcycles, you must be at least 151/2 and bring proof you have finished driver training.
If you are at least 171/2, you may obtain a permit without driver education or driver training.
Provide your social security number.
Pay the required $24 application fee.
Pass an eye exam.
Pass a traffic law permit test.
If you fail the traffic law permit test, you must wait one week before taking it again.
The provisional instruction permit is not valid until you start your behind-the-wheel driver training with an instructor or reach age 171/2.
Instruction Permit Restrictions
You may use your provisional instruction permit to practice with a parent, guardian, licensed driver 25 years of age or older, or a licensed or certified driving instructor. He or she must sit closely enough to you to take control of the vehicle at any time. A provisional instruction permit does not let you drive alone not even to a DMV office to take a driving test.
If you have an instruction permit that allows you to drive mopeds or motorcycles (or any 2-wheel vehicle), you cannot carry passengers, you must ride during daylight only, and you cannot ride on any freeway.
License Requirements
To obtain a provisional license you must:
Be at least 16 years old.
Have held the instruction permit for at least 6 months.
Present a DMV form showing that you have finished both driver education and driver training.
Have your parent's or guardian's signature on your instruction permit verifying that you have completed 50 hours of driving practice, of which 10 hours must have been at night (refer to the Parent-Teen Training Aid Handbook which is available at any DMV office).
Pass the behind-the-wheel driving test.
If you fail, you must wait two weeks before you can take the driving test again.
Give your thumb print.
Have your picture taken.
License Restrictions
Provisional licensees may not drive unaccompanied between the hours of 12:00 midnight to 5:00 A.M. for the first year from the date the license is issued.
(Exceptions):
You must be accompanied and supervised by a parent, guardian, licensed driver 25 years of age or older, or a licensed or certified driving instructor:
When driving between 12 midnight and 5 A.M.
When transporting passengers under 20 years of age at any time.
You must be accompanied and supervised by a parent, guardian, licensed driver 25 years of age or older, or a licensed or certified driving instructor:
When driving between 12 midnight and 5 A.M.
However, you may transport passengers under 20 years of age between 5:00 A.M. and 12:00 midnight unaccompanied.
NOTE: Local laws may further restrict or prohibit driving during specified hours.
Exceptions to Restrictions
The exceptions listed below are granted when reasonable transportation is not available and it is necessary for the minor to drive. The minor must carry a note signed by the appropriate person and the note must explain why the minor must drive and include the date when the necessity will end.
Medical necessity
The note must be signed by your physician and the note must contain a
diagnosis and probable date when recovery will end the need for the minor to
drive.
School or school-authorized activities
The note must be signed by your school principal, dean, or his or her
designee and the note must include a reason for the school or
school-authorized activity and the date when the activity will end.
Employment necessity
The note must be signed by your employer and it must verify employment and
the date employment will end.
Immediate need of family member
The note must be signed by your parent or legal guardian and it must include
the reason and date the necessity will end.
Emancipated minor
No documentation is needed for this exemption. However, the minor must have
already declared himself or herself emancipated by completing a DMV form and
by providing Proof of Financial Responsibility (SR 1P) in lieu of the
guarantor's signatures when he or she applied for the instruction permit.
Unit 1.
Driving Responsibilities
A. Driving: A privilege, not a right
Driver license, what it means to you.
All California residents must have a driver's license to operate a vehicle of any kind on a public highway or parking facility. It's almost impossible to live without a driver's license. Having driver's license can make your life easier. So once you get your first driver's license, you need to ensure that the privilege of having license will not be taken away from you?
Driver
license, what it means to others.
Other drivers and pedestrians will expect that you will follow the laws and rules of the road, be courteous, and will not be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or otherwise be impaired while you are driving. If you are a minor, your parent(s) or guardian(s) are responsible for the financial consequences of your driving. If you have a driver license, they will expect that you will drive safely. Passengers in your car have put their safety in your hands, and expect that because you have a driver license, you will drive safely.
Motor vehicle is a weapon.
Operating a motor vehicle is a serious responsibility. A vehicle is capable of causing extensive property damage, injury, and death, and should be handled with the caution you would show a dangerous weapon such as a gun. Car can be equally, if not more, dangerous than a gun. Our attitude toward driving must not be too cavalier. Driving recklessly is like pointing or firing a gun at a group of people at an intersection.
B. Operating A Motor Vehicle Is A Serious Responsibility
We all have grown up with cars. We have been either a passenger in a car or driving one nearly every day. We think nothing of picking up the keys, jumping in the car and driving off to the corner store or school or business several times a day.
We are so familiar with the car that we've almost developed "contempt" for the car. We would never handle a loaded gun as casually and carelessly as we handle the car, but both of them are dangerous. In fact, the car is even more dangerous than a gun because to kill someone with a gun requires intent, motive, planning, and a victim who has incurred your wrath. To kill someone with a car requires none of these elements. You could kill an innocent pedestrian because you fell asleep at the wheel for a second. Most carnage on the road is the result of someone deciding to drink and drive.
The traffic safety experts emphasize that driving is more than learning to handle a vehicle and knowing the rules of the road. It is a matter of attitude. In order to become a responsible driver, you have to develop proper attitude toward driving. Treat your driving privilege with respect and you'll be rewarded with lifetime of safe, productive and enjoyable use of your vehicle.
Here are some sobering statistics:
In the past decade, four times as many Americans died in drunk driving crashes as were killed in the entire Vietnam war.
Traffic crashes are the greatest single cause of death for every age from six through twenty-eight. Almost half of those crashes are alcohol-related.
It is estimated that 2.2 million drunk driving crashes each year victimize 1.3 million innocent people who are injured or have their vehicles damaged.
In 1990, one in 100 drivers had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.10 or greater. About 21 billion miles were driven drunk.
In 1994, there were 11,207 fatally injured drivers in single vehicle crashes. About 46.2% were intoxicated.
There is some good news to report. Extensive driver education and stiffer penalties have resulted in some decline in alcohol-related traffic crashes. The number of drivers involved in collisions who had been drinking has been decreasing every year since 1993.
Parking
Parking is part of the responsibility.
Driving safely includes how and where you park your car. In particular, you must ensure that you park your vehicle so that it will not roll away on a hill, and that you do not impede traffic or pedestrians.
Parking On A Hill
When you park headed downhill, turn your front wheels into the curb or toward the side of the road. Set the parking brake. When you park headed uphill, turn your front wheels away from the curb and let your vehicle roll back a few inches until the rear of one front wheel gently touches the curb. Then set the parking brake. For either uphill or downhill parking, if there is no curb, turn the wheels toward the side of the road so the car will roll away from the center of the road if the brakes fail. When you park on a sloping driveway, turn the wheels so that the car will not roll into the street if the brakes fail.
Important to remember:
Parking At Colored Curb
White: You may stop only long enough to pick up or drop off passengers or mail.
Green: You may park for a limited time. The time is usually shown on a sign next to the green zone, or painted on the curb.
Yellow: You may stop here only long enough to load or unload things or people—no longer than the local law allows. Drivers of noncommercial vehicles are usually required to stay with their vehicle.
Red: No stopping, standing, or parking. (A bus may stop at a red zone marked for buses.)
Blue: This indicates parking for the disabled only. You must have a placard (window sign) or your license plates must be specially marked.
This blue symbol also marks parking spaces and special areas for disabled people. Disabled persons may apply for special license plates and/or placards at any DMV office. With these plates or signs, disabled people may park in these special areas. No one else may park there. Holders of disabled person plates or placards may park for unlimited periods of time in parking spaces where a sign indicates a restricted length of time.
NOTE: Placard abuse can result in cancellation or revocation of the placard and the loss of special parking privileges. Protect your parking privileges and help eliminate placard abuse by never allowing your placard to be used by others, even family members or friends, unless you are being transported in the vehicle.
No Parking
Never park where you will block traffic. Do not park or leave your car:
In an intersection.
In a tunnel or on a bridge, except where permitted by signs.
On a crosswalk (marked or unmarked); or on a sidewalk.
Within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, or a fire station driveway.
Within 3 feet of a sidewalk ramp for the disabled.
On a freeway, except in an emergency or when an officer or device requires a stop, or where a stop is specifically permitted.
In front of a driveway.
At a red curb.
Where signs say "No Parking."
In a parking space for the disabled (unless you are disabled and have a special plate or placard).
In the space next to a disabled parking space if it is painted with white lines in a crosshatched pattern. (This space may not display the handicapped sign.)
On or within 71/2 feet of a railroad track.
Between a safety zone and curb.
On the wrong side of the street.
Never park in the street just because all the parking places at the curb are taken. That is called "double parking" and double parking is always against the law.
If you must stop on a highway, park completely off the pavement. You must leave enough space for other vehicles to pass freely. Your car should be visible 200 feet in each direction. A vehicle that is stopped, parked, or left standing on a freeway (even if disabled) for more than four hours may be removed (Vehicle Code [VC] §22651 [f]).
Special Parking Rules
When you park alongside a curb, the front and back wheels must be parallel and within 18 inches of the curb. If there is no curb, park parallel to the edge of the road (VC §22502[a])*.
Never leave your car until you have stopped the engine and set the parking brake.
Don't open your door on the traffic side unless it is safe to do so and doesn't interfere with traffic. Look for passing bicycles and motorcycles.
Do not leave the door open any longer than is necessary to load or unload passengers.
*All references to code sections are to the California Vehicle Code.
More Rules You Must Know
You must not drive a vehicle so loaded, either with property or persons, that you:
Can't see ahead or to the sides.
Can't control it.
C. Obeying the literal interpretation of the law
Being a responsible driver does not mean just to abstain from drinking and driving. It also means handling the vehicle in a responsible manner. You must obey all traffic rules. You must park responsibly. For instance, parking your vehicle requires certain responsible actions on your part. You have to be responsible for the safety of passengers in your car. And, you have to be courteous and considerate of other drivers on the road.
Importance of everyday laws.
Although it may not seem important to strictly obey everyday laws, it is important to do so.
Stop signs
Traffic laws are written for the safety of everyone. Traffic engineers have done an enormous amount of research in writing these laws and they are backed up by decades of statistics. So when the sign says stop, you must make a full stop, not a rolling stop or stop only if there's a cop at the corner. The stop sign was erected there for a very good reason: Maybe there are pedestrians in the crosswalk, or there is other vehicular traffic which requires a complete stop.
Why should you stop completely at stop signs? A stop sign means that you must stop fully behind the limit line, crosswalk, or at the corner. Most accidents occur at intersections. Ignoring stop signs results in millions of dollars of damage, injuries, and deaths every single year. Choosing to stop completely could mean the difference between life and death.
Yield
What does yield really mean? YIELD signs means the cross traffic has the right-of-way. If the traffic is heavy you must come to a full stop and wait until you can turn or merge into the traffic safely. Failure to yield the right-of-way to other drivers is one of the top 5 causes of accidents in the U.S. Yield means to let other drivers, pedestrians, and bicycles have the right-of-way before you proceed. Sadly, 1,000s of accidents which could have been avoided are caused each year by drivers failing to yield the right-of-way. Again, simply following the letter of the law could save you a lot of pain and suffering.
D. Common courtesy is a key to traffic safety
Common Courtesy
We all have heard of "road rage." Someone cuts a driver off, an argument ensues and next thing you know one of the drivers is dead. Streets and freeways are shared by many different kinds of vehicles and drivers. As a responsible driver, your driving must accommodate all these various factors. Big trucks cannot accelerate or stop as readily as a small car, and they have many blind spots. Motorcyclists occupy less space on the road than a car, but they're entitled to use the road like everyone else. Cyclists and pedestrians have their rights too. And, there are drivers on the road who are older, or new to the area or simply lost. You must extend to all these other occupants of the road the same courtesy that you would like for yourself.
When you obey traffic rules and extend common courtesy to other drivers, you make driving so much safer and hassle-free. Stress and irritation are major contributors of traffic accidents. Let the other driver have the right of way. If he's tailgating you, move over to the next lane. The difference in time would be practically negligible.
Roadway is shared by all drivers
Safely sharing the roadway with other drivers and pedestrians is essential for avoiding accidents.
Courtesy, makes order out of chaos
The traffic laws and rules of the road cannot address all possible driving situations. If you remember to be courteous, you can help avoid accidents and keep traffic moving in an orderly fashion.
Courtesy, the Golden Rule
The golden rule of driving is to treat other drivers the way you want to be treated. You should obey traffic laws, drive responsibly, and avoid taking unnecessary risks.
E. Importance of driver education
Driver education, purpose of
The main purpose of driver education is to help you learn the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed for greater safety both as an operator of an automobile and as a pedestrian.
Driver education, accident savings
Using the knowledge, skills, and attitudes you learn in driver education lowers your chances of being involved in costly, injurious, and sometimes deadly accidents.
Driver education, other savings
Using the knowledge, skills, and attitudes you learn in driver education also reduces the costs of law enforcement, property replacement, and results in a much more pleasant driving environment.
F. History of the automobile
Automobile, brief history and impact of development
Evolving from earlier experiments with steam-powered vehicles, models using the gasoline-fueled internal-combustion engine were first developed by the German engineers Karl Benz (1885) and Gottlieb Daimler (1886). U.S. leadership in automobile production began with Henry Ford’s founding (1903) of the Ford Motor Co., its production (1908) of the inexpensive Model T, and its development of assembly-line techniques. General Motors, Ford’s principal competitor, became the world’s largest automobile manufacturer in the 1920s, and U.S. dominance of the field continued until the 1970s, when it was challenged by growing sales of Japanese and German cars. Concern about pollution from gasoline combustion has led to the development of cars powered by electricity from rechargeable storage batteries and by the combustion of natural gas, but such vehicles have been limited in the distance they can travel and have only been used on a small scale, largely in metropolitan areas. The development of the automobile resulted in major sociological changes and caused new economic conditions.
In 1885, Karl Benz constructed first car
The main sociological changes caused over the years by the automobile include
(a) increased mobility of the US population,
(b) accelerated development of remote areas that would not have otherwise been accessible,
(c) the ability to live farther from places of work (suburbia),
(d) increased access to goods and services,
(e) urban sprawl,
(f) reduced extended family and multi-generational households, and
(g) increased access to better education and healthcare.
The main economic and health impacts of the automobile over the years include:
(a) the creation of an industry which employs a significant number of people,
(b) the creation of new technologies and industries to support and supply them,
(c) a significant monetary cost in injury and property damage, and
(d) increased air and water pollution.
Automobile, the future
Future changes in automobile technology are likely to include:
(a) increased fuel efficiency and new industries to support it,
(b) improved safety through engineering research and development (both vehicle and road),
(c) increased sophistication of controls and instruments, many of which will contribute to safety.
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