NOTE: There are some general modifications which, while brought to the attention of the NJLRC as potentially problematic, have not been addressed in this draft. These include the substitution of the term “roadway” for the terms “road”, “roadway”, “highway” and “street”, which substitution will have to be addressed in subsequent drafts, and the use of the term “Commissioner” instead of a more accurate “Chair and Chief Administrator”, which will also have to be addressed subsequently.
CHAPTER 3. PERMITS, LICENSES AND IDENTIFICATION CARDS
39A:3-L1. Definitions
“Endorsement”, with regard to a driver’s license, means an amendment to the license on which it appears to permit the operation of additional vehicle(s), as specified.
“Permit” means both a learner’s permit and an examination permit unless otherwise specified.
“Supervising driver” means a New Jersey licensed driver at least 21 years old licensed to drive a motor vehicle of the class operated by the permit holder for not less than three years. This term does not include a motor vehicle examiner administering a driving skills test.
Source: 39:3-13.
COMMENT
This section is new. In an effort to limit duplication and the repetitive use of various terms within a single section or chapter, the terms included above were defined so that the term, rather than the longer definition, could be used in the text of the statute. The definition of endorsement is new. It is included since the term appears in this chapter, but was not previously defined.
39A:3-L2. Driving in New Jersey
A person shall not operate a motor vehicle on a public highway in this State unless the person:
a. Has a valid permit; or
b. Has a driver's license, or
c. Is under supervision while participating in an approved New Jersey behind-the-wheel driving course.
Source: 39:3-10.
COMMENT
This section is new. It contains pieces of the old 39:3-10. The licensing and registration sections of Title 39 are two of the sections that have been most heavily revised. In the existing Title 39, registration and licensing requirements are mixed together throughout approximately 120 sections of the statute and are no longer in any particular order. Provisions regarding Commercial Driver Licenses, touring privileges, tires and others are interspersed throughout the licensing and registration provisions. An effort was made in this draft chapter to reorganize the licensing provisions - consolidating them and putting them in an order. Since the current statute does not set forth the requirement of a license for driving in this State in clear direct terms, this section begins with that requirement for the sake of clarity. There are several sections within this chapter in which language calling for the adoption of regulations by the MVC has been eliminated in favor of inserting a general provision elsewhere in the statute.
39A:3-L3. Learner’s and examination permits
a. A permit is required for all individuals seeking a license to drive for the first time. A person must obtain a learner’s permit or an examination permit.
b. A learner’s permit is authorization to operate a dual pedal controlled motor vehicle in the company, and under the control, of a teacher certified to instruct in an approved behind-the-wheel driving education course, a licensed drivers' school instructor, or a representative of the Commission while taking the driver’s license examination.
c. The Commissioner may issue a learner’s permit to a person at least 16 years old, which is valid until the holder’s 17th birthday or until the holder qualifies for a provisional license, whichever occurs first.
d. A learner’s permit shall be issued only if the applicant presents an application certified by the school principal, if enrolled in a behind-the-wheel driving education course, or by the operator of the driving school where the applicant received behind-the-wheel driving instruction. A learner’s permit issued to a person taking a behind-the-wheel driving course in a school shall be retained in the school principal’s office except when the person is undergoing behind-the-wheel instruction. Upon successful completion of an approved written examination, eye examination and minimum six-hour behind-the-wheel driving course, the learner’s permit shall be validated by the Commission and retained in the possession of the person to whom it was issued. The permittee and the teacher or instructor are accountable for all violations of Title 39 committed by the permittee in the presence of the teacher or instructor.
e. An examination permit is authorization to operate a designated class of motor vehicle with a supervising driver. The Commissioner may issue an examination permit to a person over 17 years old to allow the person to operate and take the license examination regardless of completion of a behind-the-wheel driving course. The permit holder and the supervising driver are accountable for all violations of Title 39 committed by the permittee in the presence of the supervising driver.
f. An examination permit issued to a person under 21 years old is valid for six months. An examination permit issued to a person over 21 years old is valid for three months. An examination permit issued to a disabled person is valid for nine months.
g. The required fees for permits are: basic driver's license, up to $10; motorcycle license or endorsement, $5; bus or school bus endorsement, $25. The Commissioner shall waive the payment of fees for examination permits for bus endorsements when the applicant establishes that the bus endorsement will be used exclusively for operating buses owned by a nonprofit organization duly incorporated under Title 15, 15A or 16.
h. Upon application, a permit period may be extended for up to 60 days, without payment of an added fee, if the holder applied to take the driver’s license examination before the expiration of the original permit but the Commissioner was unable to schedule an examination during that period.
Source: 39:3-13; 39:3-13.1; 39:3-13.2; 39:3-13.2a; 39:3-13.4; 9:3-41; 39:3-13.4.
COMMENT
This section contains a streamlined, consolidated description of the two available permits which was culled from a review of the existing sections. The permits are not described in this way in the existing statute, but it appears that a simple, summary explanation might be helpful. This section reorders and consolidates the information regarding permits found in various other sections of the statute. The MVC has advised that a permit is required for all individuals seeking a license to drive for the first time. For individuals licensed in other states, the written test may be waived for a person 18 or older who has a valid non-provisional license issued by any of the 50 states or the District of Columbia. The road test may be waived for an individual with an out-of-state license.
39A:3-L4. Requirements for permits
a. A person shall not be issued a learner’s or examination permit until the person passes an approved written examination and complies with any other requirements imposed by law or regulation regarding vehicle operation. A person may not take the examination for a permit without acceptable photo identification unless that person is a high school student participating in an approved course of driving education.
b. The written examination shall include a test of the applicant's vision, ability to understand traffic control devices, and knowledge of:
1. Safe driving practices;
2. The effects of alcohol or drugs on the ability to operate a vehicle;
3. The mechanics of vehicles sufficient to insure the safe operation of the applicant’s vehicle; and
4. The laws and ordinary usages of the road.
c. The examination shall include questions developed by the Commission and the State Department of Health and Senior Services concerning the use of alcohol or drugs as related to highway safety. Those questions shall be on subjects determined to be relevant to youthful drivers by the Commission and the Commissioner of the Office of Highway Traffic Safety. One question shall ask whether the applicant is aware of New Jersey’s “Uniform Anatomical Gift Act,” and the procedure for indicating on a driver's license the intention to make a donation of body organs or tissues.
d. In addition to the written examination, an applicant shall submit an application and the required fee with satisfactory proof of:
1. Identity;
2. Age;
3. Legal residency, showing the applicant's presence in the United States is authorized under federal law; and
4. An applicant under 18 years old shall submit the signature of a parent or guardian. The Commission shall postpone for six months the driving privileges of any person who submits a fraudulent signature for a parent or guardian.
e. A digitized picture of the applicant is required for the issuance of an examination permit. The picture shall be stored in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner and may be displayed on the examination permit. The Commissioner may require that when a person to whom an examination permit has been issued has reconstructive or cosmetic surgery which significantly alters the person's facial features, the person shall notify the chief administrator who may require the picture of the person to be updated. The digitized picture or any access thereto or any use thereof shall not be sold, leased or exchanged. Specific use of the examination permit and any information related thereto that is stored or encoded, electronically or otherwise, shall be in accordance with 39:2-3.3 et seq. and the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994.
f. If the Commission has reasonable cause to suspect that a document presented pursuant to subsection (d) is altered, false or otherwise invalid, the Commission shall refuse to grant the permit or license until the document is verified by the issuing agency.
g. When issuing a permit, the Commissioner shall make available a current driver's manual and any supplements containing all information necessary to answer any question on an examination for a driver's license or a renewal.
Source: 39:3-10; 39:3-10f; 39:3-12.2. 39:3-10; 39:3-13.1; 39:3-41.
COMMENT
This section combines select portions of several existing sections, to identify, in a single section, the requirements for learners and examination permits. In subsection (a), the word “approved” is substituted for language saying that it is approved by the State Department of Education and conducted in a public, parochial or private school pursuant to 39:3-13.1 (which then refers to another section of the statute). It is not clear if this language is needed in the revised statute. The language of (c)(3) above replaces “his knowledge of such portions of the mechanism of motor vehicles as is necessary to insure the safe operation of a vehicle of the kind or kinds indicated by the applicant ad of the laws and ordinary usages of the road.” The provisions of (e) have been modified to mirror those pertaining to digitized license pictures in section 3-L20.
39A:3-L5. Provisional driver’s license
a. A provisional license is a limited license provided to first-time licensees. The limitations imposed by the license are designed to decrease some of the risks of driving while inexperienced drivers gain proficiency. All of the requirements of a basic license apply to a provisional license.
b. To obtain a provisional driver’s license, an applicant shall:
1. Be at least 17 years old;
2. Satisfactorily complete an approved behind-the-wheel driving course as indicated upon the face of the learner’s permit over the signature of the principal or the person operating the school in which the course was conducted;
3. Secure an examination permit;
4. Complete six months' driving experience with a validated permit; and
5. Pass the road test after exhibiting acceptable photo identification.
c. A provisional license requires a road test to demonstrate the ability to operate a vehicle. The test shall be given on public streets where practicable, but may be preceded by an off-street screening to assess basic skills. The Commission shall approve new public street locations for the test which pose a minimal risk of injury to the public.
d. A provisional license may be sent by mail and shall be distinguished in appearance from a basic license.
e. A provisional license is not convertible into a basic driver’s license. When the requirements for obtaining a basic license are met pursuant to 39A:3-L8, the licensee must return to the MVC to apply for a basic license.
Source: 39:3-13; 39:3-13.1; 39:3-13.2; 39:3-13.2a; 39:3-13.4.
COMMENT
This section consolidates the requirements for a provisional driver’s license currently found in a number of different sections of the statute. The MVC has advised that a provisional license is the second step in obtaining an unrestricted license, following a permit (learner’s, examination or both) and the first license for all first-time licensees, regardless of age. The MVC confirmed that a provisional license does not automatically become a basic license, but that a licensee who meets the requirements for a basic license must go to an MVC office and apply for the basic license. In the event that the licensee does not do so, the provisional license is valid for the entire four year license period with the restrictions that apply to a provisional license. If the licensee does not apply for the basic license, but retains a provisional license for four years, when the license is renewed, the licensee may apply for a basic license without the restrictions applicable to the provisional license.