Nevada Graduated Drivers License
Nevada has its own version of a graduated drivers license system that aims at reducing the crash rates among teenage drivers. Nevada graduated drivers license program includes mandatory drivers education classes for every drivers license applicant under 18 years of age. In addition to drivers ed, Nevada graduated license requirements include a compulsory learners permit holding period of six months and a provisional drivers license stage before a full drivers license can be issued. Failure to observe all Nevada graduate driver's license restrictions and requirements may result in you losing your driving privilege.
First of all, let's look at what the graduated license system is and why do we even need it, so we can better understand the requirements presented before every teenage driver by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicle.
If you were to name different risk factors faced by drivers who just got licensed, lack of driving experience would be on top of your list. Driving is a complex skill that requires the driver to take multiple actions at once and to interact with other drivers on the road at the same time. The only way to achieve this skill is to spend countless hours behind the wheel, the more the better. Drivers who just got their first Nevada drivers license usually have limited driving experience, the fact that significantly increases their chances of being involved in a traffic accident.
At this point, an attentive reader would stop and ask the question why the Nevada graduated drivers license law applies only to teenage drivers if lack of driving experience is the main reason why the program was introduced? Good questions indeed.
If you browse through the stats that are released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, you will see that teenagers seem to be much more likely to be involved in a traffic accident than a regular older driver. In addition to this, teen drivers are also much more likely to sustain serious injuries in a traffic accident, in fact, traffic collisions is a number one cause of death of people between 15 and 18 years of age. Studies conducted throughout the nation show that teen drivers tend to overestimate their driving skills, which frequently leads a disaster. Although older drivers who just received a drivers license have just as much driving experience as any teen driver, they tend to take active steps towards compensating for this shortage of driving skills. They drive slower, they try harder and they pay more attention to the road at all times, understanding the danger of being involved in a traffic collision. Teen drivers, on the other hand, tend to drive recklessly and pay less attention to safety precautions, such as wearing a seat belt. This explains the higher number of teen drivers being injured in traffic accidents.
The DMV has developed the Nevada graduated drivers license system in response to this problem. The graduated drivers license rules mandate that teenagers receive additional education and a certain number of supervised driving hours before they are allowed to start driving alone. Even after these requirements are met, the state enforces a number of additional drivers license restrictions that prevent teenagers from engaging in potentially dangerous activities, such as talking on a cell while driving or driving a car packed with underage friends.
Nevada Graduated Drivers License Stages
One of the ways the system achieves its goals is dividing the licensing procedure into a number of steps or phases. Each phase of the graduate drivers license system has its own requirements that must be met before the drivers license applicant can proceed through to the next step. If the requirements of the current stage are not met within a certain period of time, the applicant is forced to spend additional time at this stage until he or she gain all of the required skills. This system works very well because it allows young drivers to gain the essential driving experience before they are allowed to start driving alone.
The graduated driver's license system in Nevada has the following key stages:
- Learners permit
- Restricted license (intermediate license)
- Full drivers license
Please remember: the Nevada graduated drivers license law applies only to those who choose to apply for a Nevada learners permit or drivers license before they are 18 years of age. If you are 18 years old or older, you are not required to follow these procedures.
Learners Permit
Applying for a drivers permit is the first step of the graduated license program. You have to be at least 15 years, 6 months old and pass both the vision exam and the Nevada permit test. The permit test covers the state driving rules, road signs and safe driving practices, it has 50 questions and you will need to answer at least 40 of them correctly. If you want to see what the real DMV permit test is like, you can try a free Nevada permit practice test that uses similar wording and covers the same topics as the actual test.
Parental authorization is an important part of the Nevada graduated license law. What this means is that a teenager cannot apply for a drivers permit or drivers license unless his parents agree to accept financial responsibility for the young driver. The applicant's parents will be required to co-sign the application for a drivers license form before any testing will be conducted.
Once you pass the required exams and get your learners permit, you can go for your first drive. Although you may be excited about getting a permit, you should not forget that this is not a full drivers license yet and you are to observe the following Nevada permit restrictions:
- No driving alone. You must have a supervising driver accompany you at all times while you practice your driving skills. The supervising driver must be seated in the front seat next to you and be prepared to take control of the vehicle at any time. The supervising driver has to be at least 21 years old and have not less than one year of driving experience.
- No cell phones. You cannot use a cell phone for any purpose other than making a call to an emergency service while driving.
- Seat belts. Both the driver and the supervisor must wear seat belts.
These restrictions must be observed for at least six months before moving on to the next step of the graduated drivers license program. During these six months, you are also required to meet additional graduated license requirements, such as completing a drivers ed course and the minimum required number of supervised driving hours.
The graduated drivers license system in Nevada does not make drivers education classes optional for teenage drivers. If you want to get a drivers license before the age of 18, you must complete a state-approved Nevada drivers education class. The class takes 30 hours to complete and you can either do it online through one of the companies that offer online drivers education for Nevada, do it through your high school or one of the local commercial driving schools.
In addition to completing a drivers ed class, the graduated license program also requires you to complete at least 50 hours of supervised driving, with 10 of these hours done at night time. The hours must be logged into a Beginning driver experience log, form DLD-130. You will be required to present this log at the time of your application for a drivers license. You can refer to the Nevada drivers handbook for the list of documents that must be presented when you apply for a drivers license.
You have to make sure you follow all driving rules immaculately during your permit period. If you receive a citation for a moving violation, your permit holding period is extended by another six months. Having a clean driving record for at least six months prior to taking the Nevada driver test is a key licensing condition for teen drivers.
Intermediate Drivers License
An intermediate drivers license may be issued to applicants at least 16 years of age who have already fulfilled all drivers permit requirements and pass the drivers license skills test. An intermediate license allows unsupervised driving, but it still carries the following restrictions:
- Curfew. There is a night time driving restriction in Nevada that does not allow drivers under the age of 18 to be driving between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. This is a state-wide curfew and the hours may differ for your area. You may check with the local DMV what are the curfew hours for your area. An exception can be made if you are traveling to an employment or school event for which no other transportation is available.
- Passenger restrictions. For the first six months after being licensed, a minor cannot carry any passengers under the age of 18 who are not members of the driver's immediate family.
All graduated drivers license restrictions are lifted from the driver once the age of 18 is reached. At this point, a full Nevada drivers license is issued.
You have to remember that parents play an important role in the Nevada graduated driver license program and it is up to the parents to help young drivers acquire safe driving habits. Under the graduated license law, parents can withdraw the driving privileges of the minors they have signed financial responsibility for.
