2020 Motor Vehicle Legislation of Interest -- To Me and the Kids

It is somewhat rare for one of my children to know more about recently enacted legislation than I do. But it happened a few weeks ago when the General Assembly adopted legislation that allows my sixteen-year-old to get his driver’s license without taking a road test.  This post will cover that legislation and other recent amendments to the state’s motor vehicle laws. Temporary road test waivers.  The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) halted road tests in March 2020 due to COVID-19. That left many 16- and 17-year-olds unable to obtain a Level 2 limited provisional driver’s license. To obtain such a license, a driver must, in addition to meeting other requirements, have held a limited driving privilege for a year, log 60 hours of supervised driving, and pass a road test. G.S. 20-11(d).  S.L. 2020-30 (H 158) permits teenagers who meet all of the requirements other than passing a road test to obtain a Level 2 limited provisional license.  This is a reprieve -- not a permanent waiver.  To obtain a Level 3 full provisional license (which allows unsupervised driving after 9 p.m.), a Level 2 limited provisional licensee who was granted a road test waiver must first pass a road test. S.L. 2020-30 became effective June 19, 2020. DMV instructs limited provisional license applicants who qualify for a road test waiver to make an appointment at a DMV license office.  And, yes, we have an appointment. New limited driving privilege. S.L. 2020-77 (S 488) enacts new G.S. 20-24.1(f), [...]