Revision: Dec. 14, 2011, midnight
HB 1440 – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
04/05
HOUSE BILL 1440
AN ACT relative to driver education.
SPONSORS: Rep. L. Jones, Straf 1; Rep. Williams, Merr 11; Rep. Cloutier, Sull 4; Rep. C. McGuire, Merr 8; Rep. K. Jones, Straf 1; Rep. Newton, Straf 1; Rep. Sad, Ches 2; Rep. Warden, Hills 7; Rep. Hikel, Hills 7; Sen. Groen, Dist 6; Sen. Forsythe, Dist 4; Sen. Forrester, Dist 2
This bill permits a person who has attained the age of 15 and 1/2 years to fulfill the driver education requirement by enrolling in an online driver education course.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2247
04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to driver education.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Statement of Purpose. The general court finds that a number of teenagers postpone obtaining their driver’s license until the age of 18 because of the cost of driver education courses offered by driving schools. By providing the option of a more affordable online driver education course, with behind-the-wheel instruction provided by the parent or guardian, a larger number of teenagers may elect to be educated.
2 Conditions and Requirements for a License; Driver Education. Amend RSA 263:19, I to read as follows:
I. A driver’s license may be issued subject to the provisions of this chapter to a person under the age of 18 years who has attained his or her sixteenth birthday, if such person shall present a certificate of successful completion of a driver education course given by a public or nonpublic secondary school and approved by the department of education in cooperation with the department of safety, or given by a motor vehicle drivers’ school licensed under the provisions of this chapter, or available from an online driver education course pursuant to paragraph I-a and approved by the department of safety. An approved driver education course, whether conducted by a secondary school or by a school licensed under this chapter, shall consist of both classroom instruction and behind the wheel driver training of not less than 10 hours, in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A, published jointly by the commissioner of education and the commissioner of safety, such standards to be not less than those presently required. An online driver education course approved by the department of safety shall comply with the provisions of paragraph I-a. The classroom instruction shall include 45 minutes of a nationally-recognized motorcycle safety education course approved by the director and 45 minutes of a nationally-recognized tractor-trailer safety education and awareness course approved by the director. The department of safety, by the nature of its function, shall be held ultimately responsible for setting and maintaining the quality standards for driver education in the state, aided and facilitated by the department of education. This authority shall apply uniformly over [both] secondary school courses [and], private motor vehicle drivers’ school courses, and online driver education courses.
3 New Paragraph; Driver Education; Online Driver Education Course. Amend RSA 263:19 by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraph:
I-a. A person who has attained the age 15 and 1/2 years may fulfill the requirements of paragraph I by electing to enroll in an online driver education course which has been approved by the department of safety. The provider of such course may be located in the state of New Hampshire or in another jurisdiction. The course shall include security features, including student voice biometrics, to protect a student’s personal information and course records. The online driver education course shall issue a certificate of completion to all students who successfully complete the course. A person electing the online driver education course shall be exempt from the completion of observation time in a dual control vehicle under the supervision of a driver education course instructor. A person electing the online driver education course shall, in addition to any other supervised driving time required under paragraph II, certify and complete an additional 10 hours of supervised driving time under the supervision of a licensed parent or guardian, or, if there is no licensed parent or guardian, under the supervision of a licensed adult over the age of 30. This additional supervised driving time shall replace the supervised driving time performed by the driver education course instructor as part of a driver education course.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.