(a) Any person under the age of eighteen may not operate a motor vehicle unless he or she has obtained a graduated driver's license in accordance with the three-level graduated driver's license system described in the following provisions.
(b) Level One Instruction Permit. An applicant who is fifteen years or older meeting all other requirements prescribed in this code may be issued a level one instruction permit.
(1) Terms and conditions of instruction permit. A level one instruction permit issued by the State of West Virginia is valid until thirty days after the date the applicant attains the age of eighteen and is not renewable. However, any permit holder who allows his or her permit to expire prior to successfully passing the road skills portion of the driver examination, and who has not committed any offense which requires the suspension, revocation or cancellation of the instruction permit, may reapply for a new instruction permit under the provisions of section six of this article. The division shall immediately revoke the permit upon receipt of a second conviction for a moving violation of traffic regulations and laws of the road or violation of the terms and conditions of a level one instruction permit, which convictions have become final unless a greater penalty is required by this section or any other provision of this code. Any person whose instruction permit has been revoked is disqualified from retesting for a period of ninety days. However, after the expiration of ninety days, the person may retest if otherwise eligible. In addition to all other provisions of the West Virginia Code for which a driver's license may be restricted, suspended, revoked or canceled, the holder of a level one instruction permit may only operate a motor vehicle under the following conditions:
A. Under the direct supervision of a licensed driver, twenty-one years of age or older, or a driver's education or driving school instructor who is acting in an official capacity as an instructor, who is fully alert and unimpaired, and the only other occupant of the front seat. The vehicle may be operated with no more than two additional passengers, unless the passengers are family members;
B. Between the hours of five a.m. and ten p.m.;
C. All occupants must use safety belts in accordance with the provisions of section forty-nine, article fifteen, chapter seventeen-c of the West Virginia Code;
D. Without any measurable blood alcohol content, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (h), section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of the Code of the State of West Virginia; and
E. Maintains current school enrollment and is making satisfactory academic progress or otherwise shows compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of the State of West Virginia Code.
F. A holder of a level one instruction permit who is under the age of eighteen years shall be prohibited from using a wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle, unless the use of the wireless communication device is for contacting a 9-1-1 system. A person violating the provisions of this paragraph is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall for the first offense be fined twenty-five dollars ($25.00); for a second offense be fined fifty dollars ($50.00); and for a third or subsequent offense be fined seventy-five dollars ($75.00).
(c) Level Two Intermediate Driver's License. An applicant sixteen years of age or older, meeting all other requirements of the code, may be issued a level two intermediate driver's license.
(1) Terms and conditions of a level two intermediate driver's license. A level two intermediate driver's license issued under the provisions of this section shall expire thirty days after the applicant attains the age of eighteen, or until the licensee qualifies for a level three full Class E license, whichever comes first. In addition to all other provisions of this code for which a driver's license may be restricted, suspended, revoked or canceled, the holder of a level two intermediate driver's license may only operate a motor vehicle under the following conditions:
A. Unsupervised between the hours of five a.m. and ten p.m.;
B. Only under the direct supervision of a licensed driver, age twenty-one years or older, between the hours of ten p.m. and five a.m. except when the licensee is going to or returning from:
1. Lawful employment;
2. A school-sanctioned activity;
3. A religious event; or
4. An emergency situation that requires the licensee to operate a motor vehicle to prevent bodily injury or death of another;
C. All occupants shall use safety belts in accordance with the provisions of section forty-nine, article fifteen, chapter seventeen-c of the State of West Virginia Code;
D. For the first six months after issuance of a level two intermediate driver's license, the licensee may not operate a motor vehicle carrying any passengers less than twenty years old, unless these passengers are family members of the licensee; for the second six months after issuance of a level two intermediate driver's license, the licensee may not operate a motor vehicle carrying more than one passenger less than twenty years old, unless these passengers are family members of the licensee;
E. Without any measurable blood alcohol content in accordance with the provisions of subsection (h), section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of the Code of the State of West Virginia;
F. Maintains current school enrollment and is making satisfactory academic progress or otherwise shows compliance with the provisions of section eleven, article eight, chapter eighteen of the State of West Virginia Code;
G. A holder of a level two intermediate driver's license who is under the age of eighteen years shall be prohibited from using a wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle, unless the use of the wireless communication device is for contacting a 9-1-1 system. A person violating the provisions of this paragraph is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall for the first offense be fined twenty-five dollars ($25.00); for a second offense be fined fifty dollars ($50.00); and for a third or subsequent offense be fined seventy-five dollars ($75.00).
H. Upon the first conviction for a moving traffic violation or a violation of paragraph A., B., C., D. or G., subdivision (1), subsection (d) of this section of the terms and conditions of a level two intermediate driver's license, the licensee shall enroll in an approved driver improvement program unless a greater penalty is required by this section or by any other provision of this code;
I. Upon the second conviction for a moving traffic violation or a violation of the terms and conditions of the level two intermediate driver's license, the licensee's privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be revoked or suspended for the applicable statutory period or until the licensee's eighteenth birthday, whichever is longer unless a greater penalty is required by this section or any other provision of this code. Any person whose driver's license has been revoked as a level two intermediate driver, upon reaching the age of eighteen years and if otherwise eligible may reapply for an instruction permit, then a driver's license in accordance with the provisions of sections five, six and seven of this article.
(d) Level Three, Full Class E License. The level three license is valid until thirty days after the date the licensee attains his or her twenty-first birthday. Unless otherwise provided in this section or any other section of this code, the holder of a level three full Class E license is subject to the same terms and conditions as the holder of a regular Class E driver's license.
(e) A person violating the provisions of the terms and conditions of a level one or level two intermediate driver's license is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall for the first offense be fined twenty-five dollars ($25.00); for a second offense be fined fifty dollars ($50.00); and for a third or subsequent offense be fined seventy-five dollars ($75.00).
(Ord. 2013-12. Passed 8-15-13.)