SLS 17RS-134 ENGROSSED
2017 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 17
BY SENATORS GATTI, BISHOP AND GARY SMITH
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
TRAFFIC. Provides for driver education to include instruction on appropriate driver
conduct when stopped by a law enforcement officer. (1/1/18)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 32:402.1(A)(1)(a) and (2)(b), 407(A)(2)(a), and 408(A)(1),
3 relative to driver education; to provide for driver education to include instruction
4 relative to appropriate driver conduct when stopped by a law enforcement officer;
5 and to provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 32:402.1(A)(1)(a) and (2)(b), 407(A)(2)(a), and 408(A)(1) are hereby
8 amended and reenacted to read as follows:
9 §402.1. Driver education; required
10 A. No application for a license for the operation of a motor vehicle shall be
11 received from any person making application for the first time unless there is also
12 submitted with the application, on a form approved by the secretary of the
13 Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, written
14 evidence of the successful completion by the applicant of one of the following:
15 (1)(a) A "driver education course" for any person under the age of eighteen,
16 which shall consist of not less than eight hours of actual driving instruction and thirty
17 hours of classroom instruction. A person shall not be allowed to receive more than
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 17
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1 four hours of actual driving instruction on any single calendar day. The Department
2 of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, shall establish rules and
3 regulations to administer and define the requirements of the course. The rules and
4 regulations established by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public
5 safety services, shall provide for instruction relative to trailer safety and, to the
6 economic effects of littering, and to appropriate driver conduct when stopped by
7 a law enforcement officer. Oversight review of these rules shall be conducted by
8 the House and Senate committees on transportation, highways and public works in
9 accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.
10 * * *
11 (2) A "prelicensing training course" from any person eighteen years or older
12 if a driver education course is not completed. The prelicensing training course shall
13 consist of a minimum of six hours of classroom instruction and a minimum of eight
14 hours of actual driving instruction. A person shall not be allowed to receive more
15 than four hours of actual driving instruction on any single calendar day. The
16 Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, shall establish
17 rules and regulations to administer and define the requirements of the course.
18 Oversight review of these rules shall be conducted by the House and Senate
19 committees on transportation, highways and public works in accordance with the
20 Administrative Procedure Act. The rules shall provide for:
21 * * *
22 (b) Course content and presentation, including content relative to trailer
23 safety and, to the economic effects of littering, and to appropriate driver conduct
24 when stopped by a law enforcement officer.
25 * * *
26 §407. Application of minors; revocation; applications of persons less than
27 twenty-one years of age
28 A.(1) * * *
29 (2)(a) Upon completion of a driver's education course approved by the
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 17
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1 Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, and upon
2 passing a visual examination and a road knowledge test, including rules of the road,
3 signs, and signals, sharing the road with motorcycles and tractor/trailer trucks,
4 knowledge of distracted driving issues, knowledge of trailer safety, knowledge of
5 appropriate driver conduct when stopped by a law enforcement officer, and not
6 less than two questions relative to railroad and highway grade railroad safety, an
7 applicant at least fifteen years of age, but less than seventeen years of age, applying
8 for the first time may be issued a Class "E" learner's license. The license may be
9 issued for a four-year period at the same fee as a Class "E" driver's license and must
10 be maintained for at least one hundred eighty days, unless prior to such time the
11 driver reaches seventeen years of age, prior to being converted to a Class "E"
12 intermediate driver's license. The Class "E" learner's license shall authorize the
13 holder to drive while being accompanied by a licensed parent, guardian, adult at least
14 age twenty-one or older, or licensed sibling at least age eighteen or older.
15 * * *
16 §408. Examination of applicants required; classes of licenses
17 A.(1) Except as otherwise provided, every applicant must pass a written
18 knowledge and skills test for a motor vehicle representative of the type of motor
19 vehicle he operates or expects to operate, or provide evidence on a form approved
20 by the department that he has successfully passed the written knowledge test and a
21 driving or skills test administered by an authorized third party. In addition to the
22 specialized knowledge and skills tests, each such examination shall include: a test
23 of the applicant's eyesight; his ability to understand highway signs regulating,
24 warning, and directing traffic; his knowledge of railroad and highway grade crossing
25 safety; his knowledge of sharing the road with motorcycles and tractor/trailer trucks;
26 his knowledge of the economic effects of littering; his knowledge of distracted
27 driving issues; his knowledge of trailer safety; his knowledge of appropriate driver
28 conduct when stopped by a law enforcement officer; and his knowledge of all
29 relevant traffic regulations.
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 17
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1 * * *
2 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2018.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Sharon F. Lyles.
DIGEST
SB 17 Engrossed 2017 Regular Session Gatti
Present law requires individuals who apply for a driver's license to submit written evidence
of successful completion of either a "driver education course" or "prelicensing training
course".
Present law requires the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services,
to establish rules and regulations to administer and define the requirements of driver
education and prelicensing training courses.
Proposed law retains present law and requires driver education and prelicensing training
courses to include course content relative to appropriate driver conduct when stopped by a
law enforcement officer.
Present law requires individuals, as part of the application procedure to obtain a license to
operate a motor vehicle, to pass a road knowledge test which includes rules of the road,
signs, and signals, sharing the road with motorcycles and tractor/trailer trucks, economic
effects of littering, distracted driving, trailer safety, and not less than two questions relative
to railroad and highway grade crossing safety, and knowledge of all relevant traffic
regulations.
Proposed law retains present law and adds requirement that the road knowledge test include
knowledge of appropriate driver conduct when stopped by a law enforcement officer.
Effective January 1, 2018.
(Amends R.S. 32:402.1(A)(1)(a) and (2)(b), 407(A)(2)(a), and 408(A)(1))
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.