Buffalo teenagers and their parents should be aware that in February of 2010, new rules went into effect in New York State changing the requirements for a teenager to obtain a driver license. These regulations were changed because of the disproportionate number of accidents, including accidents leading to personal injury and wrongful death, that could be attributed to teenage drivers.
New York State teenagers who have not already obtained a driver license now must follow different rules. Teenagers who obtain a learner’s permit at age sixteen will now be required to wait at least six months before taking the road test to obtain a driver license. The new law also increases the number of hours of driving that a teenager must complete before obtaining a driver license from 20 hours to 50 hours, with 15 of those hours taking place during the night.
Perhaps most importantly for teenage drivers, if you are driving with a learner’s permit or junior license, you are now limited to only one non-family passenger under the age of 21 in the car unless there is an adult in the front seat of the vehicle. This provision was enacted because of studies that demonstrated great increases in the likelihood of an accident for each additional teenager in a vehicle.
Hopefully, these new regulations will reduce the number of individuals injured or killed in motor vehicle accidents in New York State. If you have been injured in an accident involving a teenage driver and wish for more information on this topic, please feel free to call my office at 716-542-5444.
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