Rules of the Road - incorrect information? |
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Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
June 27, 2010
Crystal Lake Police continue to investigate a two-car accident that occurred after 9:00PM on Friday night on Route 176 at Briarwood Road. That's a tough intersection at any hour, but it was a bad one for a 67-year-old driver, who had been southbound on Briarwood, and a 16-year-old driver who was eastbound on Route 176.
Four people in the teen's car were injured: the teen driver, a 45-year-old Rockford man, an 8-year-old, and a 38-year-old Wauconda woman.
The number of passengers in the teen's car caused me to wonder about the Age 16-17 driver's license restrictions. Upon re-reading the information in the Illinois Rules of the Road, I found what appears to be an error in the Rules of the Road.
A new driver is presumed to be inexperienced and is restricted for the number of passengers he can carry in his car. But read the restriction:
"For the first 12 months of licensing, or until the driver turns 18, whichever occurs first, the number of passengers is limited to one person under age 20, unless the passenger( s) is a sibling, stepsibling, child or stepchild of the driver. After this period, the number of passengers is limited to one in the front seat and the number of safety belts in the back seat."
So, does this mean that a 16-year-old driver can carry only one passenger and that passenger must be age 19 or under? That's what it says.
Can't he drive with a parent in the car? Of course, he can. The language in the Rules of the Road needed to be corrected.
The actual wording in the Illinois Vehicle Code reads differently, and is correct, at 625 ILCS 5/6-107 (g): "If a graduated driver's license holder is under the age of 18 when he or she receives the license, for the first 12 months he or she holds the license or until he or she reaches the age of 18, whichever occurs sooner, the graduated license holder may not operate a motor vehicle with more than one passenger in the vehicle who is under the age of 20, unless any additional passenger or passengers are siblings, step-siblings, children, or stepchildren of the driver."
Catch the distinction in the wording?