What you need to know about Hawaii's Graduated Licensing Program

The Graduated Licensing

Program

The new Hawaii law establishes a three-stage

graduated licensing program for drivers under

the age of 18. The program allows beginning

drivers to develop their driving skills over time

as they gain experience and maturity.

Key elements of the new “provisional” stage

include limits on unsupervised late-night

driving and the number of passengers allowed

during unsupervised driving.

Why Hawaii Needs the

Graduated Licensing

Program

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of

death among U.S. teens. Crash rates for young

beginning drivers and their passengers are

particularly high. Sixteen year-old drivers have

higher crash rates than drivers of any other age,

including older teen drivers.

Because of their inexperience, beginning drivers

are least able to handle hazardous situations. This,

combined with a lack of maturity and aggressive

driving behaviors, results in high crash rates.

Graduated licensing programs, already

working successfully in most other states, have

resulted in fewer crashes, injuries, and fatalities

involving teen drivers.

The Instructional

Permit Phase

The person must:

• be at least 15 years and 6 months in age

to acquire an instructional permit.

• be in immediate possession of the permit

when driving a motor vehicle.

• be seated next to a person who is at least

21 years of age and licensed to operate the

same type of motor vehicle. However,

between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 5:00

a.m., the supervising parent or guardian

must be seated next to the minor driver.

• have all occupants wear their seatbelts in

compliance with Hawaii State law: children

under 4-years-old properly restrained in

child safety seats, and children between

4-and 7-years-old in booster seats.

The permit:

• is valid for one (1) year from the date of

issuance; and

• may be renewed for another one-year

period no sooner than 30 days before the

expiration date of the permit and no later

than 90 days after the expiration date of the

permit.

Failure to renew the instructional permit

within 30 days after the expiration date will

result in waiting 180 days before being eligible

for a road test.

The Provisional

License Phase

A person may be granted a provisional license

to operate a motor vehicle if that person:

• is at least sixteen (16) years old, but under

the age of eighteen (18);

• holds an instructional permit and has held

that permit for at least 180 days and there

is no pending violation that might result in

a suspension or revocation of that person’s

instructional permit;

• satisfactorily completes a State certied

driver’s education course and possesses the

classroom and behind-the-wheel certi-

cates; and

• successfully passes a road examination test.

The person granted a provisional license shall,

as a requirement:

1. have in their immediate possession their

provisional driver’s license;

2. have all occupants wear their seatbelts in

compliance with Hawaii State law: children

under 4-years-old properly restrained in

child safety seats, and children between

4-and 7-years-old in booster seats;

3. Passenger Restrictions:

The provisional licensee driver SHALL NOT

TRANSPORT more than one person below

the age of eighteen (18), without being

accompanied by a licensed driver that is

the provisional licensee’s parent or guard-

ian, unless that person is a household

member.

4. Night-Time Driving Restriction:

The provisional licensee driver SHALL

NOT DRIVE between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00

a.m., unless accompanied by either a

parent or guardian that is licensed to drive

the same type of motor vehicle and is

seated in the passenger seat beside the

licensee.

The person granted a provisional driver’s

license may drive between 11:00 p.m. and

5:00 a.m. without a licensed parent or

guardian in the motor vehicle only under

the following conditions:

A. Traveling to or from the licensee’s place

of employment, where the operation of a

motor vehicle is necessary for that purpose.

The provisional licensee shall keep in his

or her possession a signed statement

from the employer containing the

employer’s:

• Name,

• Address,

• Telephone number, and

• Verication of employment and work

hours.

B. Traveling to or from a school-authorized

activity, where the operation of a motor

vehicle is necessary for that purpose, and

the provisional licensee shall keep in his

or her possession a signed statement

from a parent or guardian containing

the parent’s or guardian’s:

• Name,

• Address,

• Telephone number, and

• Verication that the operation of the

motor vehicle by the licensee is

necessary to travel to or from the

school-authorized activity;

provided that under A. and B. above, the

provisional licensee shall not transport

more than one person under the age of

eighteen (18) between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00

a.m. without being accompanied by the

licensed parent or guardian of the provi-

sional licensee.

5. The provisional license shall expire on

the provisional licensee’s nineteenth (19th)

birthday.

Full Driver’s License

A provisional licensee may be issued a full

driver’s license if the provisional licensee:

• has satisfactorily held the provisional

license for at least six (6) months;

• has no pending violation that might result

in a suspension or revocation;

• is at least seventeen (17) years old; and has

satisfactorily complied with all the require-

ments of Chapter 286, Hawaii Revised

Statutes.

Penalties

For 1st violation of items listed in the Provi-

sional License Phase section, the provisional

license shall be suspended for a 3-month

period.

For 2nd or subsequent violations of items

listed in the Provisional License Phase section,

the provisional license shall be revoked for a

6-month period.

If a provisional licensee is convicted of an

offense relating to the operation of a motor

vehicle:

• For a 1st conviction, the provisional license

shall be suspended or revoked for 6 months.

• For a 2nd or subsequent convictions, the

provisional license shall be revoked for one

year.

Attention All Minor

Applicants

Effective January 9, 2006, pursuant to Act 72

of the Hawaii State Legislature, the State of

Hawaii will initiate a Graduated Provisional

Licensing Program. This means:

• The minimum age to acquire a permit is

15½ years old.

• All license examinations and driver’s educa-

tion requirements will remain in place.

• Applicants between the ages of 15½

through 17, must hold a valid Hawaii

instructional permit for a period of 180

days, instead of 90 days.

• You must be accompanied by a licensed

driver at least 21 years or older, instead of

18 during the instructional permit phase.

The licensed driver must be a parent or

guardian between the hours of 11:00 p.m.

and 5:00 a.m during the instructional

permit and provisional phases.

• To receive either a provisional license or full

driver’s license you cannot have any pending

violations that may result in the suspension

or revocation of either your instructional

permit or provisional driver’s license.

• To obtain a full driver’s license, you must

hold your provisional driver’s license for at

least 6 months and be at least 17 years old.

• You have until your 19th birthday to convert

your provisional driver’s license to a full

driver’s license. Your provisional driver’s

license expires on your 19th birthday.

• If your provisional driver’s license expiration

date is on a weekend or holiday for the

City/County, then YOU MUST CONVERT YOUR

PROVISIONAL DRIVER’S LICENSE to a full

driver’s license by the last working day prior

to the expiration date.