Illinois uses a Graduated Drivers License (G.D.L.) for all drivers. Used to be that you turned 16, got your license, and off you went. No longer. Now, Illinois drivers under 18 are treated differently. Some restrictions on teen drivers are dropped between 18-21 but not until you are over 21 are you a free and clear “adult” driver.
The restrictions on under 18 drivers are meant to make it safer for teen drivers. As can be seen with <a href=”http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=328811&src=5″>disturbing regularity</a>, teen drivers are frequently the cause of traffic accidents.
One restriction for drivers under 18 includes not transporting more than 1 person under the age of 20 in the vehicle unless the passengers are siblings or children of the driver. Another is that if a driver with a G.D.L. commits a traffic offense and is convicted then those restrictions on passengers extend 6 months after the conviction, even if the G.D.L. holder becomes older than 18.
Minors convicted of offenses under the Cannabis Control Act, the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, or the Methamphetamine Control Act, while in a motor vehicle, can have their G.D.L. cancelled, which means their license will no longer exist.
Drivers under 21 convicted of transporting alcohol EVEN ONCE can have their licenses revoked or suspended. Getting convicted of transporting alcohol twice while under 21 is a mandatory revocation of your license. Also, crimes relating to motor vehicles, including those not related to driving, such as breaking into a motor vehicle, committed while the G.D.L. holder was a minor can cause the license to be revoked.
The big, big issue is the following. Any driver under 21 who receives convictions for TWO offenses of traffic regulations in Illinois within a 24 month period can have their license suspended.
This means that if you do not receive supervision, and instead get conditional discharge or a straight conviction, and you do so twice within a 24 month period you will get your license suspended. That’s not good news for a young driver. Many people think that they should just pay their ticket at the clerk’s office in the court house and just get their ticket over with. This is a CONVICTION and doing this twice within 2 years when you are under 21 will cause your license to be suspended. This includes out of state tickets as well!
This is why you will want the services of an attorney to try to make sure that if your license is threatened you get the best deal possible. We can help make sure that your ticket is handled appropriately if you are under 21. If you are over 18, go ahead and call us. If you are under 18, make sure your parents know because they will have to accompany you to court anyway.
Without the input of an attorney, you can make serious mistakes in regards to your driving privileges. Let us help! Call BGSA at (815) 338-3838 if you are under 21 and got a ticket.
Why is it that drivers under the age of 21 are treated differently under the law then drivers over the age of 21?
If a 17 year old commits the same violation as a 50 year old is it not the same violation? Does it not bear the same risks to themselves and other drivers?
If a 19 year old were to get into an accident with another car at 75 mph would it not bear the same consequences as the same accident involving a 45 year old driver?
When the emergency personnel respond to a crash involving an 18 year old driver would it not be the same personnel to an accident involving a 26 year old?
If statistically a driver is unsafe because of their age, then by the same logic statistics should be examined with other factors like race and gender.
The fact that I will have to go to a court trial with risk of getting my license suspended, and have to attend a special defensive driving course all because I am under 21 is ridiculous. The only thing that keeps a driver over the age of 21 from having to jump through the same hoops is age. Not experience, not skill, not anything you can control, but mere age.
The fact is that driver regardless of age poses the same risks to themselves and others as soon as they start the engine to their car.