ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996 TAG: 9607010077
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
TEEN-AGERS WHO FAIL tests for licenses or learner's permits in Virginia can count on a longer waiting period to try again, come Monday.
Teen-agers are going to find it a little tougher to get their driver's licenses in Virginia.
New laws passed by the 1996 General Assembly will make Virginia's system of regulating juvenile drivers one of the strongest in the country, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The laws take effect Monday.
Teen-agers and their parents interviewed at the DMV office in Roanoke on Saturday morning generally approved of the changes, saying anything that makes driving safer for teen-agers is welcome.
One new law requires that an applicant who fails the written test for a driver's license or learner's permit must wait 15 days before taking the test again. In the past, those who failed could take the test every DMV business day until they passed.
The idea behind the requirement - it gives Virginia the second-longest waiting period for a retest in the nation behind Oregon - is to encourage juvenile applicants to study their driver's manuals, thereby increasing their chances of passing and improving their skills and knowledge of state laws.
Persons 18 and older will still be able retake a driving knowledge test the day after failing it. But after Monday they will be required to pay $2 if they retake a test before 15 days have passed.
Samantha Shepherd, 15, of Roanoke just escaped the tougher requirement on Saturday when she took the written test for a learner's permit and failed it. She had one more wrong answer than is allowed.
As she waited for Samantha to take the computerized test, Sherry Shepherd, Samantha's mom, said she expected her daughter to fail it because she hadn't studied for it.
"She walked in cold; we'll be back," Sherry Shepherd said. "I told her it's no joke."
Sherry Shepherd said she welcomes the changes in the laws because they will make for safer teen-age drivers.
"I support anything that makes them recognize [driving is] a privilege and not their God-given right," she said.
DMV employee Chris Ruble gave Samantha a state driver's manual and advised her she could take the test again Monday. But he warned her about the new law and advised her to study the manual carefully.
Other laws that go into effect Monday will:
* Require teen-agers to hold their learner's permits for at least six months, or until they turn 18, before applying for driver's licenses. The intent, DMV said, is to give teens more behind-the-wheel experience under supervision of a licensed driver before they get their own licenses.
* Reduce the number of demerit points for traffic violations that teen-agers can accrue before they have to take driver-improvement classes.
In the past, any driver who accumulated 12 to 17 points within a year or 18 to 23 points within two years was required to attend a driver-improvement clinic. After Monday, drivers under 18 will be required to take classes if they get 9 points within a year or 12 points within two years. If a teen acquires any additional points within a six-month probation period following the classes, his or her license will be suspended.
* Require the licensed driver accompanying a teen-age student driver be at least 21 years old, rather than 18, and be seated beside the learner. A student can be accompanied by an 18-year-old driver only if that person is a brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister.
Additionally, a new law that took effect in April allows the immediate seven-day suspension of the driver's license of anyone under 18 who registers prohibits those under 21 from driving with a breath-alcohol content of greater than .02.
Stephen Stump of Salem, whose daughter Laura, 15, was applying for her learner's permit, said he was all for the stricter rules. "I don't think you can ever be too safe on the highway," he said.
Laura, who will be taking driver's education classes at Salem High School, said she thinks the new rules are fair. The waiting period for retests may make some teens more nervous when they take their written tests, she said.
"I guess I feel that they're right," Beth Harms, 15, of Roanoke County said of the new laws. "I think they want us to be more safe drivers," said Harms, who was picking up her learner's permit.
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON/Staff. Samantha Shepherd, who turned 15by CNBin May, makes her first attempt at passing a test Saturday to obtain
her learner's permit, but missed out by one question. She can come
back the next business day. But if she failed Monday, after tougher
laws go into effect, she'd be waiting another 15 days.