H 3356 Session 112 (1997-1998)
H 3356 General Bill, By Stille, Cotty, M. Hines, Knotts, Maddox and Quinn
A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION
56-1-405 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A DRIVER IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND AN ALCOHOL
EDUCATION PROGRAM; TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-50, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE
APPLICATION, ISSUANCE, AND RENEWAL PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING A BEGINNER'S PERMIT
AND EXEMPTIONS FROM THIS PROCEDURE, SO AS TO REVISE THE AGE OF A PERSON WHO
MAY OBTAIN A BEGINNER'S PERMIT, TO PROVIDE WHEN A PERMIT HOLDER MAY TAKE A
DRIVER'S LICENSE EXAMINATION, TO REVISE THE AGE AND DRIVING EXPERIENCE OF A
PERSON WHO ACCOMPANIES A PERMIT HOLDER, AND TO PROVIDE THE AGE AND EXPERIENCE
OF A PERSON WHO ACCOMPANIES A PERMIT HOLDER ON A MOTORCYCLE.-SHORT TITLE
02/04/97 House Introduced and read first time HJ-6
02/04/97 House Referred to Committee on Education and Public
Works HJ-7
A BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
1976, BY ADDING SECTION 56-1-405 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR
A DRIVER IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND AN ALCOHOL
EDUCATION PROGRAM; TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-50, AS
AMENDED, RELATING TO THE APPLICATION, ISSUANCE,
AND RENEWAL PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING A
BEGINNER'S PERMIT AND EXEMPTIONS FROM THIS
PROCEDURE, SO AS TO REVISE THE AGE OF A PERSON
WHO MAY OBTAIN A BEGINNER'S PERMIT, TO PROVIDE
WHEN A PERMIT HOLDER MAY TAKE A DRIVER'S LICENSE
EXAMINATION, TO REVISE THE AGE AND DRIVING
EXPERIENCE OF A PERSON WHO ACCOMPANIES A PERMIT
HOLDER, AND TO PROVIDE THE AGE AND EXPERIENCE OF
A PERSON WHO ACCOMPANIES A PERMIT HOLDER ON A
MOTORCYCLE; TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-100, AS
AMENDED, RELATING TO AN UNEMANCIPATED MINOR'S
APPLICATION FOR A BEGINNER'S PERMIT, INSTRUCTION
PERMIT, OR A DRIVER'S LICENSE, SO AS TO ELIMINATE
THE INSTRUCTION PERMIT, TO INCLUDE A PROVISION FOR
A SPECIAL RESTRICTED DRIVER'S LICENSE, TO PROVIDE
A PROCEDURE TO REINSTATE A LICENSE OR A PERMIT
WHEN A MINOR'S COSIGNER IS SUSPENDED OR REVOKED,
OR WHEN THE COSIGNER DIES, TO PROVIDE THE
PROCEDURE FOR A PERSON WHO IS LESS THAN EIGHTEEN
YEARS OF AGE AND WHO HOLDS A SPECIAL RESTRICTED
DRIVER'S LICENSE TO OBTAIN A DRIVER'S LICENSE; TO
AMEND SECTION 56-1-130, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO
LICENSE EXAMINATIONS AND THE AUTHORITY GRANTED
BY BASIC AND CLASSIFIED LICENSES, SO AS TO PROVIDE
A PROCEDURE TO WAIVE CERTAIN DRIVER'S LICENSE
EXAMINATIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 56-1-180, AS
AMENDED, RELATING TO THE SPECIAL RESTRICTED
DRIVER'S LICENSE, SO AS TO REVISE THE AGE OF A
PERSON WHO MAY APPLY FOR THE LICENSE, TO
ELIMINATE A REFERENCE TO THE INSTRUCTION PERMIT,
TO REVISE REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN THE LICENSE, AND
TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE TO MODIFY OR WAIVE THE
REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN THE LICENSE; TO AMEND
SECTION 59-39-320, RELATING TO RULES AND
REGULATIONS PROMULGATED BY THE STATE BOARD OF
EDUCATION REGARDING DRIVER EDUCATION AND
TRAINING COURSES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE
REGULATIONS PROMULGATED UNDER THIS PROVISION
MUST BE ADMINISTERED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 56-1-405. (A) The Department of Public Safety
shall create a driver improvement program and an alcohol education
program. The purpose of the programs authorized under this section
is to provide driver rehabilitation. The department shall determine
the content of the programs. The alcohol education program shall
provide three hours of instruction in:
(1) the hazards of driving while impaired or intoxicated;
(2) the criminal penalties for alcohol and drug-related motor
vehicle violations;
(3) the medical, biological, and psychological effects of the
consumption of alcohol and drugs and their impact on the operation
of a motor vehicle; and
(4) any other drug and alcohol-related information that the
department determines would be beneficial to applicants for a driver's
license.
(B) If an individual who holds a special restricted driver's license
is convicted of one or more moving violations:
(1) the court shall require the individual to attend a driver
improvement program or alcohol education program; and
(2) as a condition of reinstatement of a special restricted driver's
license, the department may require the individual to attend a driver
improvement program or alcohol education program.
(C) The department may waive attendance at a driver improvement
program or an alcohol education program conducted by the
department if an individual attends a private driver improvement or
an alcohol education program provided by a political subdivision of
the State that is approved by the department."
SECTION 2. Section 56-1-50 of the 1976 Code, as last amended
by Section 121E, Part II, Act 497 of 1994, is further amended to read:
"Section 56-1-50. (A) A person who is at least
fifteen years and nine months of age may apply to the
department for a beginner's permit. After the applicant has passed
successfully all parts of the examination other than the driving test,
the department may issue to the applicant a beginner's permit which
entitles the applicant having the permit in his immediate possession
to drive a motor vehicle on the public highways for not more than
twelve months. The holder of a beginner's permit may take the
driver's license examination not more than fourteen days after the
permit is issued. This requirement may be waived if a subsequent
beginner's permit is applied for or issued. While driving the
permittee must be accompanied by a licensed driver eighteen
twenty-one years of age or older who has had at least one
year three years of driving experience, and who is
occupying a seat beside the driver, except when the permittee is
operating a motorcycle. A three-wheel vehicle requires the
accompanying driver to be directly behind the driver on a saddle-type
seat or beside the driver on a bench-type seat. The holder of a
beginner's permit may drive a motorcycle with another person on it
only if the other person is at least twenty-one years old and has been
licensed to drive at least three years. A beginner's permit may
be renewed or a new permit issued for additional periods of twelve
months, but the department may refuse to renew or issue a new
permit where the examining officer has reason to believe the
applicant has not made a bona fide effort to pass the required driver's
road test or does not appear to the examining officer to have the
aptitude to pass the road test. The fee for every beginner's or renewal
permit is two dollars and fifty cents, and the permit must bear the full
name, date of birth, and residence address and a brief description and
color photograph of the permittee and a facsimile of the signature of
the permittee or a space upon which the permittee shall write his
usual signature with pen and ink immediately upon receipt of the
permit. No A permit is not valid until it has
been so signed by the permittee.
(B) A student regularly enrolled in a high school of this
State which conducts a driver training course is not required to obtain
a beginner's permit to operate a motor vehicle while the student is
participating in the driver training course and when accompanied by
a qualified instructor of the driver training course.
(C) Also exempted from the requirement of the
beginner's permit are persons enrolled in driver training courses
conducted by driver training schools licensed under Chapter 23 of
this title. However, these persons at all times must be accompanied
by an instructor of the school and may drive only an automobile
owned or leased by the school which is covered by liability insurance
in an amount not less than the minimum required by law."
SECTION 3. Section 56-1-100 of the 1976 Code, as last amended
by Section 121G, Part II, Act 497 of 1994, is further amended to
read:
"Section 56-1-100. (A) The application of an
unemancipated minor for a beginner's permit, instruction
permit special restricted driver's license, or driver's
license must be signed and verified before a person authorized to
administer oaths by the father, mother, or guardian or, for all other
minors, by a responsible adult who is willing to assume the obligation
imposed under this article upon a person signing the application of a
minor. Upon the extension of a permit pursuant to Section 56-1-50,
authorization by the father, mother, guardian, or a responsible adult
is not required.
(B) If, while the licensee is a minor, the department receives
a written request that the license of the cosigner be suspended or
revoked, or if the cosigner dies, the department shall suspend the
license of the minor and may not reinstate the license or permit until:
(1) another qualified adult cosigns and certifies an application;
or
(2) the minor becomes an adult.
(C) If the applicant for a driver's license is less than eighteen years
of age and is the holder of a special restricted driver's license, the
applicant is entitled to receive a driver's license if the applicant:
(1) has possessed a valid special restricted driver's license for
the twelve-month period preceding the date of the application for a
driver's license; and
(2) has not been convicted of a traffic violation during the
period contained in subsection (C)(1) for which points may be
assessed pursuant to this title and has completed an approved driver
education course."
SECTION 4. Section 56-1-130 of the 1976 Code, as last amended
by Act 459 of 1996, is further amended to read:
"Section 56-1-130. (A) The department shall
examine every applicant for a driver's license, except as otherwise
provided in this article. The examination shall include
includes a test of the applicant's eyesight, his ability to read
and understand highway signs regulating, warning, and directing
traffic, and his knowledge of the traffic laws of this State and
shall include includes an actual demonstration of
ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the operation of
the type motor vehicle, including motorcycles, for which a license is
sought. The department may require such further physical and
mental examination as it deems considers necessary
to determine the applicant's fitness to operate a motor vehicle upon
the highways, such further examination to be at the applicant's
expense. The department shall make provisions for giving an
examination in the county where the applicant resides. The
department shall charge an appropriate fee for each complete
examination or reexamination required in this article.
(B) No persons A person, except those
exempted under Section 56-1-30 and Section 56-1-60 or those
holding beginner's permits under Section 56-1-50, shall not
operate any classification of motor vehicle without first being
examined and duly licensed by the driver examiner as a qualified
driver of that classification of motor vehicle.
(C) A basic driver's license authorizes the licensee to
operate motor vehicles, three-wheel vehicles, or combinations of
vehicles which do not exceed twenty-six thousand pounds gross
vehicle weight; provided, that the driver has successfully
demonstrated the ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control
in the operation of a motor vehicle in this category. A basic driver's
license also authorizes the licensee to operate farm trucks provided
for in Sections 56-3-670, 56-3-680, and 56-3-690 which are used
exclusively by the owner for agricultural, horticultural, and dairying
operations or livestock and poultry raising.
(D) A classified driver's license shall authorize
authorizes the licensee to operate a motorcycle or those
vehicles in excess of twenty-six thousand pounds gross vehicle
weight which are indicated by endorsement on the license. The
endorsement may include classifications such as: motorcycle,
two-axle truck, three or more axle truck, combination of vehicles,
motor-busses or oversize or overweight vehicles. The department
shall determine from the driving demonstration the number of
endorsements to be indicated on the license.
(E) Except as provided in this section, the department may
waive any driver's license examination contained in this title if the
applicant:
(1) holds a valid driver's license under this title; or
(2) holds a valid driver's license from:
(a) another state;
(b) a territory or possession of the United States, or the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; or
(c) a province or territory of Canada.
(F) The department may not waive the vision requirement required
by this section."
SECTION 5. Section 56-1-180 of the 1976 Code, as last amended
by Act 490 of 1992, is further amended to read:
"Section 56-1-180. (A) The department may issue
a special restricted driver's license to a person who is at least
fifteen years old and less than sixteen years old under
eighteen years of age, who first has acquired a beginner's
permit, or an instruction permit has possessed a
valid beginner's permit for at least fourteen days immediately before
the date of the application, surrenders the beginner's permit, pays the
required fee, and who has successfully passed the road tests or
other requirements as the department may in its discretion
may prescribe. The special restricted driver's license is valid
only under the following conditions:
(1) in the operation of all type vehicles, except that between the
hours of six o'clock p.m. and six o'clock a.m. the holder of the special
restricted driver's license must be accompanied by a licensed adult,
twenty-one years of age or more, or accompanied by the holder's
parent or guardian. However, beginning on the day that daylight
saving time goes into effect through the day that daylight saving time
ends, the holder of the license does not need to be accompanied
before eight o'clock p.m.;
(2) in the operation of farm machinery and equipment, other
than a passenger car, while engaged in agricultural pursuits; and
(3) in the operation of a motor scooter or light motor-driven
cycle of five-brake horsepower or less.
(B) The department may modify or waive the restrictions
contained in subsection (A) if the restrictions would adversely affect:
(1) the employment or opportunity for employment of the
licensee; or
(2) the opportunity of the licensee to participate in athletic
events and related training sessions."
SECTION 6. Section 59-39-320 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 59-39-320. The State Board of Education shall
promulgate rules and regulations for establishment by local
school districts of approved driver education and training courses,
and when duly promulgated shall have full force and effect of law.
Regulations promulgated under this section must be administered
by the Department of Education and the Department of Public Safety
for their respective driver education programs. Such
The regulations shall require that credit for completion of a
driver education training course shall must not be
given unless the course shall have included includes
not less than thirty classroom hours of instruction in driver education,
and not less than six hours of actual behind-the-wheel driving."
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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