State lawmakers are considering eliminating a waiting period for teen drivers to get their provisional license.
Teens currently have to hold a learner's permit for at least nine months before they can apply for a limited provisional license and drive without supervision. would allow provisional licenses for drivers as soon as they've logged 60 hours behind the wheel and are at least 16.
Rep. David Willis, R-Union and sponsor of the bill, says the waiting period should be dropped because it's so hard to get a DMV appointment. Those appointments often have to be scheduled months in advance because of limited capacity at driver's license offices.
"We've got 16-year-olds out there who have done the required time or done that the hours, and they're unable to get the appointment to either get their permit or to get their license," Willis said.
But Rep. Zack Hawkins, D-Durham, worries that eliminating the waiting period could make teen drivers less safe. He noted that the legislature already reduced the waiting period from 12 months to nine months.
"Parents have shown through research that they believe that this wait time is really, really important, because the worst thing in the world is for an investigator or a police officer to knock on your door to say that something has happened to your child, and that's something that we can prevent," he said.
Willis argued that most students would take several months to complete the required 60 hours of supervised driving with their learner's permit. "I don't see many students out there going in over a week's period and just knocking out 60 hours," he said.
The bill would also save teens a trip to the DMV when they apply for a full provisional license, allowing that process to be done online rather than in person. And it would drop a requirement that teens get a driving eligibility certificate from their school, which Willis says is no longer needed.
The House Transportation Committee delayed a vote on the bill because it ran out of time to hear from members of the public who wanted to speak.
would require new drivers over age 18 to complete a three-hour driver's education class. Rep. Jarrod Lowery, R-Robeson and sponsor of that bill, said it wouldn't apply to people who move to North Carolina after obtaining their license in another state.
And Wednesday would give drivers the option to list an emergency contact on their DMV record.
Rep. Carson Smith, R-Pender and sponsor of the bill, said the idea came from a state trooper who'd like better information on contacting a driver's family after an accident.
"Sometimes in the middle of night, sometimes anytime, it's hard to find next of kin if you have somebody who's involved in a wreck or really any other things," Smith said.
The House Transportation Committee also had that would increase fees for vehicle emissions inspections. But that bill was replaced by a proposed study of the emissions inspection program before the committee approved it — likely ending talk of a fee hike this year.
