PRINTER'S NO. 4230
No. 2996 Session of 1996
INTRODUCED BY HESS AND FAIRCHILD, NOVEMBER 14, 1996
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, NOVEMBER 14, 1996
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
2 Statutes, providing for a safe driving course.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
6 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
7 § 1507.1. Safe driving course.
8 (a) General rule.--A driver's license may not be issued to
9 any person between 16 and 18 years of age unless the person
10 successfully completes a course of not less than five hours
11 relative to safe driving practices and passes an examination
12 prescribed by the Department of Education in consultation with
13 the Department of Transportation.
14 (b) Contents.--The department shall establish standards for
15 the safe driving course which shall include:
16 (1) A minimum of two hours on:
17 (i) the nature and the medical, biological and
1 psychological effects of alcohol and drugs and their
2 impact on the operator of a motor vehicle;
3 (ii) the dangers associated with the operation of a
4 motor vehicle after the consumption of alcohol or drugs
5 by the operator;
6 (iii) the problems of alcohol and drug abuse; and
7 (iv) the penalties for alcohol and drug-related
8 motor vehicle violations.
9 (2) The remaining hours of instruction shall include,
10 but not be limited to, instruction regarding areas relevant
11 to:
12 (i) traffic sign shapes and colors;
13 (ii) road line markings, including line colors;
14 (iii) speed limits;
15 (iv) defensive driving techniques;
16 (v) school bus laws as they pertain to motor vehicle
17 operators;
18 (vi) the Pennsylvania point system; and
19 (vii) safe driving techniques for adverse weather
20 and emergency conditions.
21 (c) Conduct of course.--The course may be conducted by
22 school districts or drivers' schools licensed by the Department
23 of Education.
24 (d) Additional provisions.--The safe driving course shall be
25 waived in the case of a person completing any approved 30-hour
26 classroom program or a 30-hour classroom plus six hours behind
27 the wheel course provided that:
28 (1) the applicant presents a certificate of completion
29 from a driver training school licensed by the Department of
30 Education or a Pennsylvania school district for the course;
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1 or
2 (2) in the case of an applicant transferring a valid
3 out-of-State license to a Pennsylvania license, the applicant
4 presents a certificate evidencing completion of at least five
5 hours classroom instruction as required in the applicant's
6 former licensing state.
7 (e) Course availability.--The department is authorized to
8 enter into such agreements as are necessary to provide at least
9 one course every two months in each county or to enter into
10 regional or other arrangements to facilitate the provision of
11 the course for rural applicants.
12 (f) Fees.--Any fee charged for the course required in this
13 section shall not exceed $25 of which $5 shall be forwarded to
14 the department.
15 (g) Certificates.--The department shall issue to driver
16 training schools licensed by the Department of Education and to
17 school districts offering the course a numbered certificate of
18 completion, which shall be issued to each person completing the
19 course. The driver training school and the school district shall
20 transmit to the department a list of persons receiving the
21 certificates on a monthly basis and maintain the list for two
22 years. The department may charge a $1 fee per certificate.
23 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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