New Teen Driving Rules Delayed a Few Days

Though teen driving laws are slated to change in Pennsylvania, the rule shift gets a Christmas reprieve.

Increased restrictions on new Pennsylvania drivers under the age of 18 were originally scheduled to go into place Dec. 24. However, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials this week noted a calculation error and announced the law's effective day will be pushed to Dec. 27, according to a news release.

That gives some younger drivers a slightly longer timeframe to get licensed prior to more stringent restrictions going into effect. Starting at midnight Tuesday, new rules on training, passengers and seatbelts go on the books.

Signed into law by Gov. Corbett earlier this year, Act 81 alters the vehicular code to impact teen driving rules. Some stipulations include:

• Requiring 65 hours of supervised, behind-the-wheel training, up from 50. The additional 15 hours covers 10 hours of nighttime driving and five hours in poor road conditions.
• Restricting the amount of unrelated passengers a driver under 18 may have in the car to one for the first six months.
• Making seatbelt violations for permit license holders a primary offense, allowing law enforcement to easily pull underage violators over.

The seatbelt and passenger restriction rules will go into effect for any driver under the age of 18. However, those who finish their 50 hours of training prior to Dec. 27 won't be required to take the additional training—making the three-day shift more meaningful.

Certain exceptions and caveats are in place for the rules. The passenger restriction is relaxed after six months if the permit holder avoids any driving convictions or at-fault (or partially at-fault) collisions. If a driver has a clean slate, he or she can have up to three unrelated passengers under 18 in the car after six months.

If guardians are in the car, as well, the passenger restriction is void.

Check out the PennDOT FAQ attached to this article, or visit its website for more information on the new rules.