Kentucky Graduated Driver Licensing

Permit Phase

Applicants must be at least 16 years of age to apply for a driving permit. A parent or guardian must sign the permit application for applicants under the age of 18, taking responsibility for the applicant. Applicant must successfully pass the written permit examination and the vision test to be issued a permit. Applicants under the age of 21 must hold the driving permit for a minimum of 180 days. Applicants over the age of 21 must hold the driving permit for a minimum of 30 days. Permit holders must drive with licensed driver over 21 years old accompanying them in the front passenger seat. (Must complete a minimum of 60 hours of practice driving, 10 of which must occur at night.) Permit holders under the age of 18 are not allowed to drive between the hours of 12 midnight and 6 a.m. unless the driver can demonstrate a good cause for driving such as emergencies, school or work related activities. Drivers receiving a moving traffic violation conviction under KRS 186, 189, 189A. will have to restart the 180 day Permit waiting period. Permit holders shall not operate a motor vehicle at any time with more than 1 unrelated person under 20 years of age in the vehicle. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is prohibited. All drivers under the age of 21 are subject to “Zero Alcohol Tolerance” (Defined as .02 Blood Alcohol Concentration). Drivers who receive a permit before 18 years of age must complete one of the following New Driver Education Programs before they will be eligible to apply for the full unrestricted license: Graduated Licensing Course (Free 4 hour course provided by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in the drivers home county), High School Drivers Education Course or a similar course offered by a Kentucky Community College, Vocational School or Job Corps., Private Driver Training course at a Division of Driver License approved driver training school. All drivers are subject to Kentucky’s point system. A driver under the age of 18 who accumulates more than 6 points, or a driver age 18 and over who accumulates 12 points may have their driving privilege suspended. No serious moving violations for those under the age of 18. Buckle Up, it’s the Law! Everyone in the vehicle must wear a seatbelt at all times.

Intermediate License Phase

When applying for an Intermediate License the driver’s Parent/Guardian must certify the driver has completed 60 hours of practice driving, 10 of which must occur at night. Drivers under 18 years of age who have successfully completed the permit phase must pass the driving skills test to be issued an intermediate license. After successfully completing the road test the Kentucky State Police driving examiner will place an “Intermediate License” sticker on the drivers permit. Drivers 18 years of age or older do not have to complete the Intermediate License phase and may apply for a full unrestricted driver license, provided they have completed an approved Driver Education Program. Intermediate License holders under the age of 18 are not allowed to drive between the hours of 12 midnight and 6 a.m. unless the driver can demonstrate a good cause for driving such as emergencies, school or work related activities. Passenger restriction – limit 1 unrelated person under 20 years of age (secondary offense) Drivers receiving a moving traffic conviction under KRS 186, 189, 189A. will have to restart the 180 day intermediate License waiting period. Intermediate license holders must complete one of the following New Driver Education Programs before moving to the next licensing phase: Graduated Licensing Course (Free 4 hour course provided by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in the drivers home county), High School Drivers Education Course or a similar course offered by a Kentucky Community College, Vocational School or Job Corps., Private Driver Training course at a Division of Driver License approved driver training school. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is prohibited. All drivers under the age of 21 are subject to “Zero Alcohol Tolerance” (Defined as .02 Blood Alcohol Concentration). A driver under the age of 18 who accumulates more than 6 points may have their driving privilege suspended. No serious moving violations for those under the age of 18. Buckle Up, it’s the Law! Everyone in the vehicle must wear a seatbelt at all times.

Full Unrestricted Driver License Phase

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is prohibited. All drivers under the age of 21 are subject to “Zero Alcohol Tolerance” (Defined as .02 Blood Alcohol Concentration). All drivers are subject to Kentucky’s point system. A driver under the age of 18 who accumulates more than 6 points, or a driver age 18 and over who accumulates 12 points may have their driving privilege suspended. Buckle Up, it’s the Law! Everyone in the vehicle must wear a seatbelt at all times.

What is Kentucky Graduated Driver Licensing?

What is Kentucky GDL? Kentucky Graduated Driver Licensing is a system for phasing in on-road driving, allowing beginners to get their initial experience under conditions that involve lower risk and introducing them in stages to more complex driving situations.

Take some time to watch the Young Drivers video here. See if your teen likes this video. If they do, they will love our Kentucky graduated driver licensing program.

We begin with combining the in-class with the behind-the-wheel training process concurrent with one another. Then we add more hours behind-the-wheel to give the new drivers an opportunity to experience all four seasons and weather conditions under a controlled risk factor. We take away the 6 hour driver training clock and base achievement and graduation on performance, skill and experience.

Remember when we were trying to teach our new teenagers as if we were traveling on a two-lane dirt road at 35 MPH, when our average traveled speed in Kentucky exceeds 55 MPH on a six-lane highway? Most families had a single vehicle in the fifties and sixties, and then to two vehicles in the seventies. The days of driving on weekends with mom and dad for the first year or two is over. In today’s hectic schedules, we are not allowing ourselves time to protect our Kentucky teens and teach them to drive as we should be. Parents need to realize that as the times change we must keep pace with that change.

Our driving generation, 35 to 50 years old, will be remembered as the worse driving generation in the history of the vehicle. We average 40,000 fatalities per year. Our generation needs to change the way we think and teach Kentucky graduated driver licensing.

If you look closely, you'll realize we spend about 12 years on basic education, reading writing, math, history and physical education…and only 6 hours behind the wheel training in a vehicle.

We need to be remembered as the generation that created the best Kentucky drivers in history. The generation that did something about the way we think and teach driver training. We need help from every mom and dad to complete this goal. We need to invest our time in our teenagers and take the time needed to teach our children to drive better.

This could mean as much as 1 or two years of guidance. And to do this you will need the very best Kentucky curriculum and training videos available. You will need to allow Kentucky graduated driver licensing to become part of your families dinner conversation and sharing experiences on new intersections, changes on the interstate on ramps or maybe a lost of a fellow student friend.

Kentucky Driver education and training is no longer a project to hire out to the local driving school. Parents need to get involved and stay involved for at least two or three years. Placing driving restrictions and hours on when a new driver is allowed to drive and with whom. This, in essence, is Kentucky Graduated Driver Licensing.