Chapter 3 INTERMEDIATE LICENSES FOR DRIVERS ... - …

1 14 Chapter 3 INTERMEDIATE LICENSES FOR DRIVERSUNDER 18 graduated LICENSE PROCEDURESD rivers under 18 years old are required to go throughgraduated steps of driving experience to gain full, unrestrictedDriver License status. The graduated Driver License steps aredesigned to incrementally teach young DRIVERS how to drive byrequiring minimum levels of driving experience and a safedriving history record before allowing teenage DRIVERS toreceive a full-fledged Class D driver license. Motor vehiclecrashes are the major cause of death for young people betweenthe ages of 15 and 20. By requiring more supervised practice,the State of Tennessee hopes to save lives and prevent are four steps to becoming a full, unrestricted DriverLicense holder: 1.

2 Learner Permit2. INTERMEDIATE Restricted License3. INTERMEDIATE Unrestricted License4. Regular Driver above four steps are part of the graduated Driver LicenseProgram. A license issued under the first three steps will have GDL printed in the bottom left corner. See page 15 forpictures of graduated Permit You must be 15 yearsold and pass thestandard written andvisual exams. You must hold alearner permit for 180days in order to move tothe IntermediateRestricted License step. You may drive a car onlywhen accompanied by alicense driver 21 years or older who is ridingin the front seat of the vehicle. You may not drive between the hours of 10 and Driver and passengers must wear a seat LicenseThere are two INTERMEDIATE License levels for DRIVERS under 18years of age.

3 The first level is the INTERMEDIATE RestrictedLicense and the second level is the INTERMEDIATE Level - INTERMEDIATE Restricted License You must be sixteen (16) years old and pass the drivingtest. You must have held a learner permit for 180 days. You cannot have tickets for driving offenses that add up tomore than six (6) points on your driving record during theimmediate 180 days preceding your application. You must have verification from a parent, legal guardianor licensed driving instructor stating you have fifty hours(ten hours at night) of driving experience. Certification ofdriving experience must be made on the official form (SF-1256) provided by the Department of Safety. This form isavailable at all DL Stations or may be downloaded fromour web site.

4 This form must be signed by either a parent,legal guardian or licensed driving instructor. Driver and passengers must wear a seat Level - INTERMEDIATE Unrestricted LicenseTo move from the INTERMEDIATE Restricted to the UnrestrictedLicense, you must be 17 years old and meet the followingconditions: You must have held an INTERMEDIATE Restricted License forone (1) year. You cannot have accumulated more than six points onyour driving record. You cannot have had a traffic accident that was your fault. You cannot have 2 seat belt violations. Driver and passengers must wear a seat belt. No additional tests are Level - Regular Driver LicenseYou may obtain a Class D regular driver license when you are18 years of age, or when you graduate from high school orreceive a GED, whichever is sooner.

5 The word INTERMEDIATE will be removed from your license when you move to theRegular Driver License. However, the license will still includethe Under 21 may be issued at age fourteen and will alwaysexpire on the driver s sixteenthbirthday. Hardshipsautomatically serve as a Learner Permit (PD) once the holderturns fifteen (15) years of driver did not have the Hardship License for the minimumof 180 days by the time the Hardship expires on the sixteenthbirthday, the driver will have to be re-issued the learner permit must be carried for the remainder of time tocomplete the required 180 days before the issuance of anIntermediate Restricted is allowed. The Hardship licensecannot be Residents Under 18If you are fifteen years old and have a valid permit from thestate you used to live in, then a Tennessee learner permit is theonly thing that you will qualify to have issued.

6 You must holda valid permit for a total of 180 days and turn sixteen years oldbefore being eligible for the INTERMEDIATE Restricted LicenseClass D. The length of time that you held the permit yourprevious state may be included in the 180-day period as longas you can provide a certified driving record from your15 Examples of the license documents issued under the graduated Driver License (GDL) Program are shown PermitIntermediate RestrictedFront of PD CardFront of IR CardBack of PD CardBack of IR CardIntermediate UnrestrictedNote: No RestrictionCard issued with thislevel. No drivingrestriction applied atthis 3 INTERMEDIATE LICENSES FOR DRIVERSUNDER 18 graduated LICENSE PROCEDURES previous state. The certified driving record must be issuedwithin the 30 days immediately preceding the date of theTennessee application.

7 This certified driving record mustshow no violations or accidents on the there areany violations on the previous state record you will be requiredto retain the Tennessee Learner Permit until your drivingrecord can be reviewed by the Department of Safety s DriverImprovement Section to see if the record complies withTennessee s less than 6 points the applicant is 16 years old and holds a valid license(regular, provisional, probationary, graduated , etc.) from aprevious state (issued at least 90 days before applying for aTennessee license), the application will be for an IntermediateRestricted the applicant had an out-of-state license for LESS than 90days, an INTERMEDIATE Restricted License can only be issuedif a clear driving record from the previous state is driving record must confirm:1.

8 That a valid learner permit and/or license class has beenheld for a combined period of at least 180 days. ( -Georgia permit held for 120 days + Georgia license heldfor 60 days = 180 days total) and 2. That there are noviolations or accidents on the drivingrecord. If there are any violations on the record, alearner permit only may be issued until the previous staterecord can be reviewed and evaluated by the Departmentof Safety s Driver Improvement Section. It must complywith Tennessee s less than 6 points of the length of time a license is held in theprevious state, a Tennessee INTERMEDIATE Restricted licensemust be held for a full yearbefore qualifying for theIntermediate Unrestricted license. After graduating from high school or after receiving aGED before age 18 a regular Class D operator s licensemay be issued as described on page 1 ( Chapter 1).

9 Restriction Cards for Learner Permit andIntermediate License HoldersA driver with a learner permit will be given a RestrictionCard to carry along with the permit that explains therestrictions of driving with the permit. The Restriction CardUnsafe driving incidents or violations that could result in the suspension or automatic downgrade of license level under TheGDL Program are outlined in the following table:Incident(a) Six or more pointson driving record(b) Contributing to theoccurrence of anaccident(c) Conviction of a2nd Seatbelt violation(d) Conviction of a2nd Moving violation(e) Forged letter ofparental approval(f) Contributing to theoccurrence of a fatalaccidentAfter PD IssuedRequires the applicant to continueto hold the learner permit for anadditional time period until they areable to maintain a record with lessthan 6 points for 180 consecutivedaysN/AN/AN/AN/AMust maintain a Learner Permitonly until teen reaches the age of18 After INTERMEDIATE Restricted IssuedAdds 90 days to the minimum 1year teen required to holdIntermediate Restricted (Total = 1year & 3 months)

10 Adds 90 days to the minimum 1year teen required to holdIntermediate Restricted (Total = 1 year & 3 months)N/A Adds 90 days to the minimum1 year teen required to holdIntermediate Restricted (Total = 1year & 3 months)Requires completion of a certifieddriver education courseRevocation of IntermediateRestricted and Re-issuance of aLearner Permit only until teenreaches the age of 18 Revocation of IntermediateRestricted and Re-issuance of aLearner Permit only until teenreaches the age of 18 After INTERMEDIATE Unrestricted IssuedIf any of the violations listed in (a),(b), (c) or (d) occurred during thetime the teen had an IntermediateRestricted license, but the DOS didnot receive notice from the courtuntil afterwe had already issuedthe teen an IntermediateUnrestricted license, the penaltiesin the preceding column will teen will be droppedback to an INTERMEDIATE Restrictedlicense for 90 DOS notified afterIntermediateUnrestricted issued, teen sIntermediate privileges will stillbe revoked and a Learner Permitre-issued until the 18th of IntermediateUnrestricted and Re-issuance of aLearner Permit only until teenreaches the age of 18 GDL Penalties (Table.)