Our driver education course is a great supplement to be used by home-school families.
New Mexico has a Graduated Licensing System. There are three levels of the graduated driver license (GDL):
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Instructional Permit
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Provisional License
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Unrestricted Driver License
The Instructional Permit:
The Instructional Permit allows you to operate a motor vehicle as long as there is another driver in the right front seat of the vehicle with you and he or she is your driving instructor or is at least 21 years old and has had a valid driver license in New Mexico or another state for at least three years. If the vehicle is a motorcycle, the licensed driver must follow the person learning.
To qualify for an instructional permit, you must be at least 15 years old and pass the knowledge and vision tests at the DMV. You also must be enrolled in and attending a driver education course that is approved by the Traffic Safety Bureau and that includes DWI education and practice driving. If you are under 18, you must submit a consent form signed by your parents or guardian. When you get an instructional permit, you must keep it for 6 months.
The Provisional License:
To get your provisional license, you have to be at least 15½ and you have to have had an instructional permit for at least 6 months. You must complete the practical driving component of the requirements: 50 hours of actual driving, with at least 10 of those hours at night. Your parent or guardian must certify that you have completed these hours. Also, you must not have been convicted of a traffic violation in the 90 days before applying for the provisional license.
If all of the above conditions are satisfied, you then must pass both the written and the road test administered by the DMV, as well as the vision screening, in order to get your provisional license.
Once you have the provisional license, there are some restrictions that you need to know about. As the driver, you cannot have more than one passenger under 21 in the car with you who are not immediate family members. You also may not drive on public highways between midnight and 5:00 am, though there are a few exceptions to this rule.
Unrestricted Driver License:
After you have held a provisional license for 12 months, you may apply for an unrestricted driver license. To qualify for an unrestricted driver license, you must not have been convicted of a traffic violation for 90 days prior and you must not have any traffic violations pending at the time you apply. You must not have been found guilty of or have pending an offense involving the use of alcohol or drugs during the provisional period.