Judicial Licensing Ceremony

Why have a Judicial Licensing Ceremony? The Judicial Licensing Ceremony, required by the Code of Virginia, provides judges of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court the opportunity to interact with teens and their parents in a positive manner and impress upon them the enormous responsibility that comes with a license to drive.

Why the "big deal?" Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death of young drivers. Two factors that work against them: inexperience and immaturity. Some young drivers tend to be impulsive, overestimating their driving abilities and underestimating dangers in the driving environment while others have no problem handling adult responsibilities that come with a license to drive. Young drivers need time and nurturing parents to develop driving skills and judgment needed to counteract the lack of driving and other life experiences. To further compensate for young driver inexperience and immaturity, parents should monitor their children's behavior and communicate clear consequences for bad decisions. The stakes are much too high not to provide expectations and to take a firm stance on the consequences. Allowing a youngster to drive on public highways is much too dangerous of an activity to leave in the hands of a child without parental guidance.

If a young driver "messes-up" by breaking the law or being at fault in a traffic accident, these "mistakes" can also cause their parents enormous problems. Traffic accidents and tickets can cause insurance rates to go up, or may result in the perceived risk of the family's policy as being too high. Consequently, the insurance company may determine that it is in their best interest to drop the family's automobile coverage. Legal ramifications and financial loss may also result from traffic crashes especially when the accident involves bodily injury or death. Unfortunately, often times when the young driver "messes-up," the parents and the rest of the family also suffer the consequences.

Parents' Role in Juvenile Licensing Process Parents, like it or not, you are role models for your children. The way you handle the driving task will positively or negatively influence the way your child handles the driving task. To a large extent, parents are responsible for the behavior of their children under the age of eighteen (18). One of their responsibilities includes determining when their child is ready to obtain a driver's license. Parents must also do the following:

1. Determine when their child is ready to drive unchaperoned. 2. Suspend the minor child’s driving privileges if the young driver is not demonstrating responsible behavior. **Parents need to know that the custodial parent or guardian of an unmarried or unemancipated minor (any child under 18 years of age who is the legal responsibility of the parent/guardian) may, after the issuance of a permanent driver's license to the minor, file with the Department of Motor Vehicles, a written request that the license of the minor be canceled. The DMV shall cancel the license of the minor for a period of 6 months or until the minor reaches his 18th birthday, whichever occurs sooner.** 3. Notify their insurance agent when their child is eligible for a 90-day provisional license. 4. Continue to monitor their child’s driving behavior after receipt of a provisional license.

The Young Driver's Challenge Because young drivers tend to lack maturity and are less experienced at driving they have the highest percentages of crashes involving speeding, the highest percentage of single-car crashes, the highest percentage of crashes with driver error and the highest vehicle occupancy nation-wide. Teenagers, as a group, are less likely to use their seat belts and more likely than older drivers to take risks while driving. The young driver's challenge is to learn to keep his/her emotions under control, drive safely, and beat the odds of being involved in an accident.

Licensed drivers under the age of 18 are restricted to the number of passengers they may have in the vehicle they are driving. The restrictions are as follows:

Licensed drivers who are 16 years of age may have one passenger under the age of 18 and licensed drivers 17 years of age may have up to 3 passengers under age 18 in the vehicle with them at a time.

Your privilege to operate a motor vehicle in Virginia may be suspended or revoked if you do the following:

1) Make a false statement to the DMV; 2) fail to stop and identify yourself at the scene of a crash when someone has been injured or killed; 3) operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs; 4) are involved in voluntary or involuntary manslaughter; 5) commit a drug offense regardless of whether or not a motor vehicle is involved; 6) commit a felony involving the use of a motor vehicle; and 7) try to elude the police.

You Use You Lose Virginia has a "Zero Tolerance" law which means that driving under the influence of any amount of alcohol or drugs is a serious criminal offense for drivers under the age of 21.

• Young adults 18-20 who are caught with alcohol in their possession or consuming alcohol can lose their drivers license for up to one (1) year, be fined up to $2,500, and face possible jail time.
• Teens who are 13 to 17 years of age caught drunk in public or purchasing, possessing or drinking alcohol can lose their drivers license for up to six (6) months or be prohibited from applying for a license until they are sixteen-years and six-months old.
• Young adults convicted of using a fake identification to establish false identity or false age to purchase alcohol are guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and upon conviction face a fine of up to $2,500 and/or a year in jail and/or fifty hours of community service and can lose their license for up to a year.
• Possessing or using alcohol on school property will lead to a fine of up to $1,000 and six (6) months in jail.
• Young drivers under age 20 or younger with a BAC between 0.02 and 0.07 could lose their license for up to six (6) months.

Driving while intoxicated in violation of 16.1-278.9 of the State Motor Vehicle Code will result in the following:

• First Offense - Denial of license for one (1) year or until you reach age seven-teen (17), whichever is longer.
• Second Offense - Denial of license for one (1) year or until you reach age eighteen (18) whichever is longer.

Young drivers should know that alcohol alters their ability to make decisions, impairs their judgment, gives them a false sense of self-confidence, delays their reaction time, impairs their motor skills such a coordination and balance, and greatly reduces their inhibitions. It is important to know that over 83% of the drivers convicted of driving under the influence in Virginia were male.

The good news! The total percentage of 16-20 year olds involved in fatal alcohol-related crashes was down 14% from 2000 to 2001. Nationwide, the percentage of young drivers who drink and drive is down 18.9%. The percentage of teens who rode with a driver who had multiple drinks was down 13.5% nation-wide. Even considering the decrease in fatalities related to alcohol and driving over the last few years, it would be difficult to convince the parents of the 55 young drivers killed in Virginia last year in alcohol related crashes that there was good news.

Your license may be suspended or revoked if you do the following:

• fail to pay court fines and costs for traffic and criminal convictions within the time specified,
• fail to complete a required driver improvement clinic,
• are convicted of making a bomb threat,
• are convicted of failing to pay for a gasoline purchase,
• become physically or mentally unable to drive safely,
• give false information on a driver's license application,
• receive more than 18 demerit points in a 12 month period or 24 demerit points in a 24 month period,
• register an uninsured motor vehicle without paying the uninsured motor vehicle fee,
• operate or permit operation of your uninsured motor vehicle, and
• fail to pay child support payments within 90 days of the due date.

Parent/Teen Driving Agreement

Parents are responsible for the raising their children to be responsible citizens. One of the more serious and dangerous activities their children will likely engage in during their teens will be learning to drive a motor vehicle. Prior to learning to drive, a young person should be made aware of his parents' expectations. Below are suggested financial and maintenance considerations and expectations for beginning drivers. It is suggested that parents and their children sign the Parent/Teen Driving Agreement prior to beginning to learn to drive to be sure both understand their agreed upon responsibilities.

Financial responsibilities for vehicle costs (indicate who pays and how much)

• Fuel costs Parent $______ Teen Driver $_______
• Maintenance costs Parent $______ Teen Driver $_______
• Taxes and registration cost Parent $______ Teen Driver $_______
• Monthly insurance costs Parent $______ Teen Driver $_______

Maintenance responsibilities (indicate how has the responsibility for each item below)

• Checking vehicle fluids Parent______ Teen Driver_______
• Checking tire pressure Parent______ Teen Driver_______
• Cleaning vehicle interior Parent______ Teen Driver_______
• Cleaning vehicle windows Parent______ Teen Driver_______
• Cleaning vehicle exterior Parent______ Teen Driver_______

As a beginning driver I agree to

• Wear my seat belt when driving and require those in a vehicle I am operating to wear their seat belts
• Do well in school academically and behaviorally
• Obey traffic laws and drive safely at all times
• Agree not to drink and drive
• Comply with my curfew
• Comply with passenger restrictions
• Provide my parents/guardians with my destination and time of return
• Not allow others to drive my vehicle
• Call if I will be late
• Behave responsibly and be a courteous driver

If I do not comply with these rules the consequences will be_______________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

As the parent I agree to

• Be patient
• Teach proper driving techniques
• Provide a safe and reliable motor vehicle for my child
• Make sure my child drives in accordance with the laws of the road and the vehicle laws of Virginia
• Not allow my child to drive when physically, mentally or otherwise not able to drive safely
• Teach my child to be a courteous driver

Signature of Beginning Driver_______________________________________Date____/____/____

Signature of Parent(s)_______________________________________________Date____/____/____