Florida Senate - 2011                             CS for SB 1974
       
       
       
       By the Committee on Budget; and Senator Hill
       
       
       
       
       576-04690-11                                          20111974c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to driver’s license examinations;
    3         amending s. 322.12, F.S.; providing requirements for
    4         examination questions pertaining to traffic
    5         regulations relating to blind pedestrians; amending s.
    6         318.1451, F.S.; requiring the curricula of driver
    7         improvement schools to include instruction on the
    8         dangers of driving while distracted; amending s.
    9         322.095, F.S.; requiring the curricula of traffic law
   10         and substance abuse education courses to include
   11         instruction on the dangers of driving while
   12         distracted; providing an effective date.
   13  
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Subsection (6) is added to section 322.12,
   17  Florida Statutes, to read:
   18         322.12 Examination of applicants.—
   19         (6) Each examination given for a Class E driver’s license
   20  or a commercial driver’s license under this section must include
   21  one question testing the applicant’s knowledge of traffic
   22  regulations to assist blind persons. To pass the examination,
   23  the applicant must answer that question on the examination
   24  correctly. In developing questions under this subsection, the
   25  department shall emphasize pedestrian right of way when a driver
   26  is making a right turn at an intersection.
   27         Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
   28  318.1451, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   29         318.1451 Driver improvement schools.—
   30         (2)(a) In determining whether to approve the courses
   31  referenced in this section, the department shall consider course
   32  content designed to promote safety, driver awareness, crash
   33  avoidance techniques, the dangers of driving while distracted,
   34  which must specifically include the use of technology while
   35  driving, and other factors or criteria to improve driver
   36  performance from a safety viewpoint.
   37         Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 322.095, Florida
   38  Statutes, is amended to read:
   39         322.095 Traffic law and substance abuse education program
   40  for driver’s license applicants.—
   41         (1) The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
   42  must approve traffic law and substance abuse education courses
   43  that must be completed by applicants for a Florida driver’s
   44  license. The curricula for the courses must provide instruction
   45  on the physiological and psychological consequences of the abuse
   46  of alcohol and other drugs, the societal and economic costs of
   47  alcohol and drug abuse, the effects of alcohol and drug abuse on
   48  the driver of a motor vehicle, the dangers of driving while
   49  distracted, which must specifically include the use of
   50  technology while driving, and the laws of this state relating to
   51  the operation of a motor vehicle. All instructors teaching the
   52  courses shall be certified by the department.
   53         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.