[1] Graduated drivers' licensing generally restricts nighttime, expressway, and unsupervised driving during initial stages, but lifts these restrictions with time and further testing of the individual, eventually concluding with the individual attaining a full driver's license.
Acquiring a learner's permit typically requires a minimum age and passing vision and knowledge (written) tests.
Those who hold a learner's permit must generally drive under the supervision of a licensed driver that meets the requirements of a supervisor, not be affected by alcohol or other drugs, and there may be restrictions imposed on maximum speed that a learner driver can drive and the types of road that can be driven.
In many jurisdictions a learner driver is required to display an L sign clearly on the vehicle to indicate to other road users that training and supervised driving is being undertaken.
Drivers typically must remain free of moving violations and at-fault accidents for a specified period of time.
In some places, drivers with these licenses must have no alcohol or other drugs in their blood while they are driving, and may be restricted to certain maximum speeds and from using mobile phones.
In some jurisdictions, an intermediate, provisional or probationary driver is required to display a P sign on the outside of the vehicle to indicate to other road users and police of their license status (and hence of restrictions that may apply).
Receipt of a full drivers license typically requires a specific minimum age, a minimum time period of driving experience, and may require the passing of a final road test of driving skills or the passing of a hazard perception test.
[citation needed] North American graduated driver licensing systems emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s (and were heavily influenced by a revamped graduated licensing system introduced in New Zealand in the 1980s, itself based on Waller's writings),[citation needed] and have now been adopted in almost all US and Canadian jurisdictions.
These systems place particular emphases on passenger restrictions and night time driving curfews for young drivers.
As well, most learner driver experience is obtained through professional driving instructors rather than through ad hoc supervision.
[citation needed] The Australian approaches to graduated driver licensing reflect and extend the thinking underpinning the North American and European approaches,[citation needed] combining restrictions on young drivers with intensive training requirements but also adding significant enforcement (zero tolerance with regard to speeding, driving while impaired by alcohol or other drugs, and the use of mobile telephones by young drivers) and penalty components (particularly the suspension of a drivers license for offenses, the impounding of motor vehicles, and opportunities to attend traffic offender intervention programs as part of the penalty process).
However, some youth rights advocates have accused insurance companies of charging premiums to new and young drivers in GDL jurisdictions that are not substantially less than premiums in non-GDL jurisdictions, even though graduated licensing supposedly reduces the risk of accidents.
It is not a legal requirement, but completion of the course can lead to reduced insurance premium costs for new drivers, however there is no final test as such.
The permissible blood alcohol limit for fully licensed drivers of legal drinking age, which is 18, is anything below 0.05%.
You can also qualify to drive Class 1, 2, 3, or 4 commercial vehicles and increase the demerit points you are allowed before suspension, which is from 8 to 15 and you can now supervise learner licensed drivers.
The Graduated Licensing Program (GLP) was introduced in British Columbia in 1998 and is based on driving experience.
Upon succeeding the driver's exam, they receive their Class 7 N (Novice) licence, which allows them to drive alone, but with several restrictions.
Novice drivers may even be able to take their Class 5 road test after only 18 months, if they've taken an ICBC approved graduated licensing program during the L stage and have met all other requirements (no at-fault accidents, tickets or driving prohibitions).
By successfully completing this ICBC approved driving course, drivers are also eligible to receive two High School credits.
Drivers who have had experience driving outside the province must take the knowledge test and get their learner's permit, but they are allowed to upgrade their status to Novice after a minimum of one day.
The G1 licence carries other restrictions, such as a curfew and limiting which high-speed freeways the novice driver is allowed use.
At the end of that period, the novice driver can take a G1 exit test demonstrating basic driving skills.
The federal government does, however, try to encourage graduated driver licensing through its National Priority Safety Programs fund.
The National Transportation Safety Board reported in 2017 that zero dollars were expended on graduated driver licensing through this fund in 2016 (compared to more than $230 million for impaired driving campaigns).
[15] The State of Alaska issues to new drivers an Instruction Permit at or over the age of 14 with period of validity of 2 years with only one renewal possible.
[20] Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) first commenced in Australia in the mid-1960s with New South Wales introducing provisional licences on 4 January 1966.
Today in all Australian states, newly licensed drivers are required by law to display P-plates for varying lengths of time.
After a period of one year, provisional drivers must then pass a hazard-perception test to move from red to green P-Plates where previously only a 3-year duration was required.
New restrictions also prevent any under-25, Queensland provisional licence-holder from carrying more than one passenger under the age of 21, who is not an immediate family member, between the hours of 11 pm and 5 am.