Fulfilling the parent* role in teen driving is very important. Your interest and participation in the teen’s driving practice will help establish their lifelong driving habits.
Did you know?
Oregon has a Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program designed to increase the safety of teen drivers by giving them more time to gain driving experience before becoming fully licensed. The first step is the provisional instruction permit. You can find details on
how to get an instructional permit.
Once the teen has received an instructional permit, there are restrictions related to how and with whom the teen can drive.
Provisional Instruction Permit Restrictions
- Your teen may not operate a motor vehicle while using any mobile electronic device, even hands-free.
- Your teen may not drive unless supervised by a licensed driver at least 21 years old who is seated beside the permit holder.
- The supervising driver must have had their license for at least three years for the driving practice to count toward the 50 or 100 hour requirement to get a license.
*Note: ODOT recognizes that in the driving task, a teen may be supervised by someone other than a biological or adoptive parent. The supervising adult could be a sibling, grandparent or other relative, or a family friend. For purposes of this document, when referencing “parent,” we are referring to any supervising adult that meets qualifications for driving supervision: be at least 21 years of age and have held a valid driver license for at least three years.
Did you know?
Teens who complete an ODOT-Approved Driver Education course are less likely to be involved in a traffic crash or receive a traffic citation.
Teen Provisional License Requirements and Restrictions
- Must be at least 16 years of age.
- Must hold an instruction permit for at least 6 months before applying.
- Must complete at least 50 hours of supervised driving and an ODOT- Approved traffic safety education course OR at least 100 hours of supervised driving.
- Must pass a drive test. DMV may waive the drive test if a teen has completed the ODOT-approved driver education course.
- May not operate a motor vehicle while using any mobile electronic device. This includes texting or talking on a cell phone, even hands-free, an mp3 player, or other portable electronic device.
- For the first 6 months:
- No passengers under 20 years of age unless they are a member of the driver’s immediate family, AND
- No driving between midnight and 5 a.m. (*See list of exceptions below.)
- For the second 6 months:
- No more than 3 passengers under 20 years of age unless they are a member of the driver’s immediate family, AND
- No driving between midnight and 5 a.m. (*See list of exceptions below.)
- The passenger and night driving restrictions end after 1 year or at age 18, whichever comes first.
- *Exceptions to driving between midnight and 5 a.m. for the first year:
- Driving between home and work.
- Driving between home and a school event for which there is no other transportation available.
- Driving for employment purposes.
- When accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 25 years of age.
Did You Know?
The parent or legal guardian who signed the teen application can
cancel a teen’s driving privilege. A parent or legal guardian’s signature is required for a teen under the age of 18 to get a provisional driving privilege. The parent or legal guardian who signed the application may request in writing the driving privileges be cancelled at any time, until age 18. DMV will cancel the teen’s driving privilege until they turn 18, marry, become emancipated, or reapply and submit an application with a parent or legal guardian’s signature.
Driving Risks
Driving is a risk and can be potentially dangerous for everyone. It is more dangerous for teen drivers who have less experience behind the wheel. Teen drivers crash more than any other age group for several reasons:
- Age/Lack of Maturity: Teens make more errors in judgment due to their inexperience behind-the-wheel and their young age.
- Brain Development: Numerous studies have shown that the pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for controlling decision-making and impulse control, is not fully developed until a person’s mid-twenties.
- Risky Driving Behaviors: Teens are more likely to engage in risky driving behaviors including speeding, running red and yellow lights and stop signs, tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic and other risky behaviors.
- Distractions: All inexperienced drivers experience distractions, including mobile electronic devices, car infotainment systems, pets, and other passengers. Teens have less experience dealing with these distractions when behind the wheel of a car. And it is illegal for teens under age 18 to use a mobile electronic device while operating a motor vehicle.
- Driving Inexperience: It takes a LOT of practice to learn to drive safely. Teens just don’t have the time in yet.
High-Risk Driving Conditions
Driving is a privilege and with it comes responsibility. Talk to your teen about the dangers of driving and the following high-risk driving conditions.
- Impaired Driving: Drinking any – yes, any – amount of alcohol produces impairment. It is the same with drugs. Not only is the use of alcohol and illicit drugs illegal, the combination of alcohol and/or drugs (prescription or over-the-counter) and driving can be deadly.
- High speeds: For teen drivers, most severe crashes occur at high speeds. Crash risk, severity, and force all increase as speed increases.
- Passengers: Passengers can be a major distraction. Teen passengers may intentionally or unintentionally encourage friends to speed, show off, or not pay enough attention to driving. For teen drivers, as the number of passengers increases, teen crashes increase. Driving is a “new skill” for teens and they need to pay close attention.
- Nighttime driving: For teen drivers, the most severe crashes occur at night and on weekends. Night driving is challenging for all drivers, but novice teen drivers do not have the experience to anticipate and react to nighttime conditions when visibility is reduced. Make sure your teen gets extensive nighttime practice driving with you in varied types of weather. Be aware that teenagers driving at night usually include a lack of adult supervision, carrying passengers, and driving at high speeds, all of which increase risk exponentially.
- Safety belt non-use: Safety belt non-use is a problem for both drivers and passengers. Safety belts are important because they keep the driver and passengers inside the vehicle where they are the safest.