Curfew vs. Nighttime Driving Restrictions

By Jeff Doran, Carroll County Sheriff

As Carroll County Sheriff, I have fielded numerous questions regarding the new driving laws that went into effect January 1, 2008. Unfortunately, there has been a great deal of confusion regarding the impact of these new laws with current curfew ordinances. Hopefully, this letter will clarify some of these issues.

With respect to curfew, there has been no change to the curfew ordinances in Carroll County. Each municipality have their own ordinances, but currently provide for the same curfews. Persons 16 years old and younger have a curfew Sunday night through Thursday night of 11:00 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, the curfew for persons 16 years old and younger is midnight. Persons that are 17 years old have an additional hour. Curfew for 17 year olds is midnight Sunday through Thursday and 1:00 a.m. Friday and Saturday. There are certain exceptions to the general curfew ordinances, including being accompanied by a parent, a sibling that is at least 18 years old, or a person approved by the child’s parent that is at least 21 years of age. There are other religious, school or emergency situations as well.

The laws that went into effect on January 1, 2008 do not impact or change the curfew laws. Rather, the new laws are part of the Illinois Vehicle Code which have been adopted by Carroll County. The new laws are referred to as the graduated driver licensing program and governs all drivers up to the age of 21. The Graduated Driver Licensing statute has been in effect since January 1, 2004, but was modified in several respects effective January 1, 2008. The most significant change is the alteration of the Nighttime Driving Restrictions. All drivers under the age of 18 are limited, regardless as to whether they had their license before or obtained it after January 1, 2008. Simply stated, 16 and 17 year old drivers cannot drive after 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and cannot drive after 11:00 p.m. on Friday or Saturday.

Importantly, this is not a curfew violation, but rather, a driver’s license violation. In other words, a 16 and 17 year old does not have a valid license after the nighttime driving restriction hour. A conviction on this provision of the Illinois Vehicle Code may result in a suspension of the driver’s license by the Illinois Secretary of State. There is an exemption for 16 and 17 year olds traveling to and from school sanctioned activities and work.

Other important provisions which took effect on January 1, 2008, include the following:

- In order to obtain a driver’s license, a person must have an instruction permit for 9 months;

- The passenger rule has been extended from 6 months to 12 months for those individuals receiving their driver’s license after January 1, 2008. This restriction provides that a driver who has had their license less than 12 months can only have one unrelated passenger in the car. A related person is a sibling or step-sibling, but not a cousin or other “distant” relative.

- Drivers under the age of 18 who are ticketed for traffic violations must appear before a Judge with a parent or guardian to receive court supervision. Additionally, the new legislation requires the attendance of traffic school as a requisite for court supervision for drivers under the age of 21.

- With respect to the above “passenger rule,” not only will the driver receive a ticket for having too many passengers, but a ticket will also be issued to the passenger(s).

- All drivers must be conviction-free for a period of 6 months in addition to reaching the age of 18 before “graduating” from the initial licensing phase to the full licensing phase under the statute. If a driver has received a conviction within the 6 month time frame before turning the age of 18, the time frame will be extended by an additional 6 months before the driver is considered to have reached “full licensing phase.” This “extension” can continue through the age of 21.

- Any person having their driver’s license suspended under the age of 21 will be suspended again for each additional conviction following the initial suspension. A person’s driver’s license will be suspended if convicted of two moving violations in a 24 month period.

We would ask that drivers, as well as parents, keep in mind that law enforcement officials are required to enforce and implement these new laws. The new laws, however, were passed by the Illinois legislators. These new driving restrictions are statewide and are based on studies of young drivers and the number of fatal or serious accidents, especially after 10:00 p.m. The confusion arises when trying to refer to the new driver’s license restrictions as a “curfew” and vise versa. Curfew simply refers to the time in which our young people are to be home. The graduated licensing laws restrict nighttime driving for 16 and 17 year olds.

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