Michigan Teen Driver's License Laws

Crash rates are highest among sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds. In fact, the rate of accidents peaks in the six month early window following getting a license. We’ve all been there – being a teenager and the excitement of getting your license and taking the car out for the first time. Unfortunately, too many teenagers are seriously injured or killed in car accidents. Parents have a lot to think about when a child is getting ready to drive, but along with thinking about car insurance, what kind of car the teen will drive, and talking with the teen about driving safety, a parent should understand how Michigan's Graduated Driving Licensing (GDL) works.

Teenagers’ general lack of experience and inability to react to certain stimuli on the road and dangerous situations plays heavily into accidents. All the dangers of being on the road are amplified. For example, drinking and driving, using cell phones or texting, wearing a seat belt, driving at night, handling distractions, and heeding traffic rules are all more of a contributing factor in teen driving accidents because of their young age.

What Michigan Did About Teen Driving Accidents

Michigan enacted the Michigan Graduated Driving Licensing laws. These laws are in place to allow teens to gradually build safe driving skills with a combination of two segments of driving education and three licensing levels.

Driver Education Component

Driver Education Segment 1:

• 24 hours of classroom education
• 6 hours of training behind the wheel
• 4 hours observing as a passenger in a training vehicle

Driver Education Segment 2:

• 6 hours of classroom education

Graduated Licensing Levels

Level 1 Learner’s License

• Teen must be at least 14 years, 8 months old.
• Teens may only drive with a licensed parent, guardian, or designated licensed 21-year-old adult.
• During this time, to take Segment 1 of the education requirement, the teen must have held this license for at least three consecutive months and completed 30 hours of supervised driving, two hours of which must be night driving.
• Next, the teen would take Segment 2. The teen needs to drive for at least 50 hours, with 10 night driving hours.
• The teen needs to take the driving skills exam after completing Segment 2, completing 50 supervised driving hours, with 10 hours being night driving, and after holding the Level 1 license for at least 6 months.
• A parent must give permission to advance to this type of license even if the teen completes the prerequisites. If the parent thinks the teen is not ready, they can be made to wait until they are 18.

Level 2 Intermediate License

To get this next kind of license, the teen would need to be at least 16 years old, held the Level 1 license for at least 6 months, be crash or violation free free for at least 9 months, have completed the two segments of education, passed the driving skills exam and received a certificate, and completed the required hours of supervised driving.

Teens cannot drive from 10 PM to 5 AM unless:

• Driving to, from, or in the course of employment,
• Driving to or from a designated activity, or
• Accompanied with a licensed parent, guardian, or designated licensed 21-year-old adult.

Teens cannot drive with more than one passenger who is under 21 years of age unless:

• When the additional passengers are immediate family members,
• Driving to, from, or in the course of employment,
• Driving to or from a designated activity, or
• Accompanied with a licensed parent, guardian, or designated licensed 21-year-old adult.

An authorized activity can be a school sponsored activity, a sporting event or extracurricular activity that is part of an official club, a vocational class or instruction program, an event or activity sponsored by a federally tax exempt religious organization, or transporting someone in case of serious emergency. Furthermore, it is illegal for a teen to use a cell phone unless there is a serious emergency.

Level 3 Full License

This is a full license without additional state restrictions. The teen must be at least 17 years old.

GDL ends at age 18 no matter what level the teen is at, but before then, a parent can restrict advancing levels. Furthermore, even if a teen has achieved Level 2 or 3, a parent can restrict or cancel the license.

Consequences for Violation of Teen Driver's License Laws

Teens who are ticketed and convicted of violating the rules above may be subject to a reassessment exam, and their progression through the levels could be delayed. Application for a Level 2 license requires 90 days of being crash and violation free, while application for a Level 3 license requires being crash and violation free for 12 months.

Sachs Waldman is Detroit, Michigan's choice for auto accident legal representation. Sachs Waldman's experienced personal injury attorneys are here to help you and your family find the best path forward so you can get back to your lives. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation at (313) 965-3464 or fill out our online form.