In the United States, driver licenses are issued by individual federal states, territories and districts rather than by the federal government because of the concept of federalism. Drivers are usually required to obtain a license from their country of residence and all countries recognize their respective licenses for non-residents subject to normal age requirements. A country may also suspend one's driving privileges within its borders for traffic violations. Many countries share a common system of license classes, with some exceptions, e.g. commercial license class is standardized by federal regulation on 49 C.F.R. 383 .
Video Driver's licenses in the United States
History
Some states also have an additional classification. Hawaii, for example, has a separate license category for drivers who operate mopeds only, while some northern states have separate categories for snowmobiles and ATVs. South Carolina and Georgia have non-commercial versions of any commercial grade license for agricultural purposes.
Maps Driver's licenses in the United States
Commercial Commercial Driver License (CDL)
Class C licenses are issued in all states, except Massachusetts, in commercial and non-commercial status. Non-commercial Class C licenses may not be used for rent. Most recreational vehicles not included in the category of D/E class, such as modified buses, tractors, lawn mowers or full-size compactors (more than 40 feet (12 m)) require a non-commercial Class C license and as appropriate permits the country where you live.
CDL support
- Class A : Combination vehicle (tractor plus trailer) of 26,000 pounds (12,000 kg) or more. Includes split bus (combined).
- Class B : Single (straight) vehicle of 26,000 pounds (12,000 kg) or more (including most buses including trailer buses). Also includes a combination vehicle for commercial use weighing less than 26,000 lb.
- Class C : Commercial vehicles not suited to class A or B, but labeled for hazardous materials or intended to carry more than 15 persons (excluding Georgia.) Can include heavy duty non- commercial with trailers capable of carrying over 16,000 pounds (7,300 kg), and all vehicles that can carry over 16,000 pounds (7,300 kg) but not more than 25,999 pounds (11,793 kg).
Professional drivers are usually asked to add support to their CDLs to encourage certain types of vehicles that require additional training, such as those equipped with air brakes. CDL support requirements are mostly similar, but some differ slightly from one state to another. Training and testing requirements are regulated by the US Department of Transportation. Endorsement is as follows:
- P : Passenger Transport (a bus carrying 16 or more people, a van for hire carrying 11 or more people in California)
- H : Dangerous Materials (requires TSA background checks as well as extensive written exams.The driver must be a US Citizen or a legal permanent resident to obtain H or X support.)
- M : Metal scroll
- N : Vehicle Tank (Required to carry large amounts of liquid.)
- T : Double/Triple Trailers (Road trains) (Class A licenses only)
- X : Combination of Dangerous Materials and Tank
- L : Air Brake
- S : School Bus (In addition to standard bus support, a tighter TSA and CORI background check is also required.)
CDL restrictions
Licenses may be limited in one of the following ways:
- B : Correction Lens are required when operating a motor vehicle.
- C : Mechanical assistance required to operate a commercial vehicle.
- D : Prosthetic help is needed to operate a commercial vehicle.
- E : The driver can only operate commercial vehicles with automatic transmissions.
- F : An outside mirror is required on a commercial vehicle.
- G : Commercial vehicle drivers are only allowed to operate during daytime.
- K : The driver is authorized to drive a commercial vehicle in a troubled state (only for intrastate). This restriction applies to CDL license holders under the age of 21.
- L : Motorists are prohibited from operating commercial vehicles with air brakes. This restriction is issued when the driver fails in the air brake component of a general knowledge test or performs a CDL road skill test in a vehicle not equipped with air brakes.
- M : The CDL-A holder can operate the CDL-B school bus only.
- N : The CDL-A and CDL-B holders can operate the CDL-C school bus only.
- O : The driver is limited to the hook shortcut.
- Z : Alcohol Interlock Equipment is required in commercial vehicles.
- T : Temporary license 60 days.
Foreign officials and diplomats
Unless it is rare in states and territories that issue a driver's license, the Foreign Office's Foreign Affairs Office (OFM) issues driver licenses to foreign officials and diplomats, through the states and territories in which they live. Driver licenses issued by OFM are equivalent to licenses issued by the state on a regular basis.
Driver license law
Minimum age to obtain a restricted driver's license in the United States varies from 14 years, three months in South Dakota to 17th in New Jersey. In most states, with the exception of South Dakota, passing licensing laws apply to new licensed juvenile drivers, using names such as Temporary Drivers , Junior Planners , Trial Driver , or Intermediate License . This license limits certain driving rights, such as whether new drivers can carry passengers and if so how much, and set a curfew for young drivers to get out of the way. For example, a Utah driver under the age of 18 should not drive anyone outside the family within the first six months under license. However, unlike in some Australian states and some Canadian provinces, passing licensing laws do not require lower speed limits, featuring L and P plates, bans on trailers or boats, or restrictions on driving on the highway or operating a car high performance.
Drivers under 18 years old are usually required to attend a comprehensive driver education program either in a high school or a professional driving school and take a number of lessons behind the wheel with a certified driving instructor before applying for a license. Some countries like New York also need new adult drivers to attend some form of driver education before applying for a license.
However, in some of the newly licensed licensed licensed states may be on probation for a specified period of time (usually between six months and two years), where a traffic violation carries a harsher penalty or mandatory suspension which would not normally apply to experienced drivers.
According to federal law, the minimum age for operating commercial vehicles in transit between countries is 21; as a result the minimum age for applying for an unlimited commercial driver license is 21.
Driving school buses also requires a CDL, but the minimum age for driving school buses is usually higher, usually 25. Some countries issue limited commercial driver licenses, which apply to operate commercial vehicles in the state alone. , for drivers aged 18 years and over. Professional drivers, aged 18-20 years old, usually can not be licensed to ride tractor trailers, dangerous materials, or school buses.
License for adults and minors; GDL Law
Below is a list of Graduation Pass License (GDL) and license difficulties for underage laws for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This list includes state agencies responsible for issuing driver's licenses and the length of time that full driver's licenses (unrestricted) apply to.
Decreased licensing among teenagers in the US.
According to the December 2, 2004 Los Angeles Times article, only 43% of Americans aged 15-17 years had a driver's license in 2002. By comparison, the percentage of driver licenses in this age group in 1982 was 52%.
Use as identification and proof of age
A driver's license issued in the United States has an alphanumeric number or code issued by the state motor department (or equivalent), usually showing a carrier photograph, as well as a copy of the carrier's signature, the address of the primary residence, the type or class of license, support (if any), carrier physical characteristics (such as height, weight, hair color and eye color) and date of birth. No two SIM numbers issued by the same country. Social Security numbers are now banned by federal law from appearing in new driver licenses due to identity theft concerns. In most states, in order to comply with AAMVA standards, the driver's driver's orientation for people under 21 is vertical while the driver's license for those over 21 is horizontal. Since driver licensing is often used as a proof of a person's age, the difference in orientation makes it easy to determine that a person is legally permitted to buy or consume alcohol (drinking age in all US states is 21). Some countries, however, do not require that the SIM be changed to be horizontal, such as Arizona, where it is optional to change to a horizontal license. Furthermore, the vertical license does not end until the age of 65 years in the state of Arizona. Most countries require that when a driver determines a residence in the state, he/she must obtain a license issued by that country within a certain period of time.
Since there is no national identity card in the United States, the SIM is often used as a de facto equivalent to the completion of many business and public transactions. As a result, driver licensing is the focus of many types of identity theft. Driver's license is not always an identification card. In many states, driver licenses did not even have good photographs until the 1980s. Activism by the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization for the use of age verification of photo ID in conjunction with increasing drinking age to 21 to reduce underage drinking led to photographs being added to all state licenses. New York and Tennessee were the last states to add a photo in 1986. However, New Jersey later allowed the driver to obtain a non-photo license; this is then revoked. Vermont licensees have the option of receiving non-photo licenses. All Tennessee drivers who are 60 years old or older have the option to obtain a non-photo driver license before January 2013, when photo licensing is required for voting identification. Anyone with a legitimate non-photo license will be allowed to obtain a photo license when their current license expires. Thirteen countries allow non-photo driver licensing options for reasons of religious belief: Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The subsequent additions vary from state to state, and they include fingerprints, bar codes, magnetic stripes, social security numbers, and anti-vandalism features, mostly added to prevent identity theft and to restrict the use of fake IDs. Countries are now slowly converting to digital driver licenses, which incorporate holograms and bar codes to prevent forgery.
Non-driver identification card
Many states, usually through the same agency that issued driver licenses, provide identification cards for people who are not driving.
Real ID
The Department of Homeland Security has the power through the Real ID Act of 2005 to set standards relating to applicant identification and design licenses for state issued licenses and identity cards. States are not required to comply with RealID, but if a country does not comply, all driver's license or ID cards issued by that country will not apply for any official purpose with the federal government, meaning they will not be accepted to enter the federal building or board a plane.
In order for a country to comply with RealID, the license and ID card issued from that state must be approved by DHS in compliance with RealID terms.
Countries may choose to issue regular licenses and ID cards as well as RealID, but any non-RealID should be marked that it is not RealID.
RealIDs are allowed to be issued only to legal immigrants and US citizens.
When someone signs up for RealID, either as a new SIM or an ID card applicant or renew their current license or ID card, they must show a citizenship document (US passport, certificate of birth certificate or citizenship certificate) or proof of legal immigrant status (legitimate visa) and evidence of residence in the state. The state must then verify the document and store it either electronically or on paper. No one can have more than one RealID at a time.
For those born on or after December 1, 1964, RealID must be obtained by December 1, 2014, to be allowed to do business with the federal government. Those born before 1 December 1964, have until December 1, 2017, to get their RealID.
Florida, Nevada and Wisconsin have been approved by DHS and started issuing RealID. RealID can be identified as a material corresponding to a gold star located in the upper third of the ID. RealIDs who are fully adherent are identified to have circles with inset gold stars in the top third of ID. As of October 2011, Connecticut has also published it. Starting January 2013, Ohio issued RealID under the name "Safe ID". Starting January 22, 2018, California will issue RealID.
Upgraded driver licenses
In addition, some states, mostly with international borders, issue enhanced driver licenses and enhanced ID cards. Upgraded licenses incorporate regular driver licenses with new federal passport card specifications. So, in addition to providing driving privileges, an enhanced license is also evidence of US citizenship, and therefore can be used to cross the Canadian and Mexican borders by road, rail or sea, although air travel still requires a traditional passport book. Enhanced licenses are also fully compliant with Real ID.
In May 2009, Vermont, New York, Michigan, and Washington issued driver licenses and enhanced ID cards. In January 2014, Minnesota became the fifth country to issue an enhanced driver's license, while Ohio was set to become the sixth state after it was approved by its legislature.
On March 27, 2008, the Homeland Security Secretary announced that the upgraded driver's license of Washington was the first license approved under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative; according to a Homeland Security press release, the department is also working with Arizonan authorities to develop an improved driver's license. On September 16, 2008, New York began issuing an enhanced driver's license that meets WHTI requirements. Texas is also expected to implement an enhanced driver's license program, but the program has been blocked by Texas Governor Rick Perry, despite state laws allowing Texas's Department of Public Security to issue an EDL and a decision by state attorney general Greg Abbott that EDL Texas production will meet federal requirements.
Digital driver license
California, Iowa, and Delaware have proposed a digital driver license as an identification tool. The license will be available as an application by MorphoTrust USA and installed on the user's personal phone. Some questions have been raised about user privacy, because police officers can ask for someone's license and gain access to someone's phone.
Louisiana will be the first country that allows drivers to keep valid Louisiana digital driver licenses on their mobile devices via La Wallet, an application created by Envoc which is expected to be launched early May 2018.
See also
- Department of Motor Vehicles
- Commercial driving license
- Vehicle registration plates from the United States
- Joshua's Law
- Transport security in the United States
Note
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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