The number of very (very) young drivers in the Hawkeye state could be about to surge.
New legislation has gone into effect in Iowa that allows students to get their drivers license, letting them drive unaccompanied, at the age of 14-and-a-half.
There are, as you would imagine, some restrictions. The license, called the Special Minor’s Restricted License, mandates that young drivers can only use the permit to drive to school and work, extracurricular activities, or to complete farm work to assist parents or employers. They’ll have to have completed a driver’s education course and they’ll need to have held an instruction permit (known as a learner’s permit in some states) for six months with a clean driving record. (The state allows 14-year olds to drive with adult supervision.)
Should holders of these new restricted licenses break any traffic laws while driving, they will face stricter traffic offenses than other drivers. They’re also not permitted to carry more than one minor passenger who is not a relative.
While Iowa’s new minimum for its restricted license is low, it’s not uniquely so. South Dakota also allows 14-and-a-half year olds to get a restricted minor’s permit, letting them drive largely wherever they’d like from 6:00 a.m. through 10:00 p.m.
Still, some drivers in the state were a little hesitant about the potential influx of brand-new drivers.
“It’s gonna be riskier for everybody, night time driving, sports in the morning,” Steve Vernon, owner of AAAA Driving School, told WQAD. “They’re inexperienced, I mean they’re gonna get their license, then two days later they’re gonna be driving.”