My girls attend high school and, daily, I watch as many of the students fill their cars with friends while displaying the "N" reports a reader. The reader goes on to say they spoke to their girls about this and the girls said these young people just ignore that stipulation prohibiting this because no one checks and it is a nuisance being allowed to only carry one passenger.
These youths aren't making the connections when they have the "N" designation as to what they are doing and the consequences that will follow should they be involved in a collision.
Unfortunately, the reader is not telling me anything new—and it is not just youths who do it. It is the adults too.
I once stopped a woman who was driving with an "L". Her husband and two children in car seats were also in the car. Her licence restrictions allowed her only one passenger. I was able to extend my vocabulary with some of the words that were directed at me after I served that ticket.
When the Graduated Licensing Program debuted in B.C., police took the view that there should be little leeway given to new drivers so that they would learn quickly that failing to follow the rules had significant consequences, which really meant loss of their licence for a period of time. It was hoped that if they learned this at the start of their driving career, perhaps less correction would be needed later on.
Whether this policing attitude was prevalent or not, it soon became apparent that RoadSafetyBC was handing out a significant number of prohibitions.
New drivers face licence sanctions when they receive four to six penalty points and a moving violation, coupled with failing to display a new driver sign, puts them there with one traffic stop. That resulted in the creation of a charging section for failing to display the sign that carried no points.
Failing to follow other restrictions still results in three penalty points on conviction.
Is the system working? Maybe, but then there are multi-fatality crashes occurring. Had a driver followed the rules, perhaps there would have been fewer deaths, or even no collision as there would not have been an audience to perform for. Perhaps officers need to go back to issuing the three-point ticket for all restriction violations and refusing to let the vehicle proceed until all is in order. Short-term pain for long-term gain.
Parents have the biggest stake in the solution. The police cannot set the attitude at home and it is the responsibility of parents to see that young drivers follow all the rules. After all, they supply the permissions for both licences and vehicles until the youth reaches age 18.
B.C. Driver's Licence Restrictions
Code/description
06 Ignition Interlock Required
10 Operation of motorcycle allowed between sunrise and sunset only. No passengers permitted on motorcycle
11 Operation of motorcycle permitted only while under the direct supervision of an adult who holds a valid Class 6 driver’s licence. Maximum speed of 60 km/h
12 Daylight hours only
13 Class 6 or 8 not permitted to carry passengers
14 No Hwy 99 South of Vancouver or Hwy 1 East of Van or West of Hwy 9
15 Permitted to operate vehicles with air brakes
16 Not permitted to operate Class 2 or 4
17 Not permitted to operate buses
18 Permitted to operate single trucks with air brakes on industrial roads
19 Permitted to operate truck trailer with air brakes on industrial roads
20 Permitted to operate truck trailer of any GVW without air brakes
21 Corrective lenses required
22 *W* commercial class not qualified in USA
23 Hearing aid required
24 Class 6 or 8 restricted to motor scooters
25 Fitted prosthesis/leg brace required
26 Specified vehicle modifications required
28 Restricted to automatic transmission
35 Not permitted to exceed 60 km/h
36 Not permitted to exceed 80 km/h
38 Class 8L motorcycle learner licence restriction
39 GLP – Qualified supervisor age 25+ required, 1 passenger limit
43 GLP - Class 7 Learner's Licence. Restricted to 5 am to midnight only
45 GLP - 1 passenger unless supervisor age 25+. Family exempt
46 GLP - 0 BAC/BDC; Must display *L* Sign; no electronic device use
47 GLP - 0 BAC/BDC; Must display *N* Sign; no electronic device use
51 May be either a restriction or an endorsement. Follow the specific criteria written on your licence.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.