Tinian, Rota residents exempted from driving school

Public Safety Commissioner Claudio K. Norita has directed DPS Tinian and Rota resident directors to exempt their residents, including alien workers, from undergoing driver education.

Norita issued the directive to address the current lack of private driver education schools on the two islands.

A recently passed law, Public Law 15-22, requires first-time applicants for driver’s licenses to finish a course in driving school before applying for and taking the driver license exams and driving test.

Norita said the exemption shall be granted only to residents of the two islands who have CNMI voter registration cards.

Norita said that Tinian and Rota residents may also show proof of residency by providing two supporting documents such as utilities, TV, telephone, or Internet billing showing billing address on the islands.

Nonresidents workers, he said, are required to provide a copy of their current employment contract and Immigration and Labor identification cards showing residency.

The commissioner said that foreign national workers may also show a notarized statement from the employer, stating that the worker has met the residency requirements on the islands.

For students, he said, they must provide a notarized certificate of attendance from their respective high schools under the Public School System.

For students attending the Northern Marianas College on Tinian and Rota, Norita said, they shall provide a certificate of attendance from NMC, signed by the resident administrator or registrar.

The commissioner required the resident directors to provide a written report to him on a weekly basis listing exempted applicants, documents used for proof of residency and copies of the issued CNMI driver license of the applicants.

Norita has been working on the implementation of the law that will require all first-time driver license applicants to undergo driver education at a DPS certified school.

Norita and Bureau of Motor Vehicles director Juana Leon Guerrero collaborated with Driver Training Academy’s Richard Puhalla to complete the driver education project, which began in August 2006.

Public Law 15-25 or the Mandatory Driver Education Act of 2006 was enacted on May 5, 2008. The Acts’ rules and regulations have been submitted, approved, and adopted.

The enforcement of the Act commenced on June 2, 2008. After that day, all first-time driver license applicants are required to complete 30 hours of classroom and six hours of laboratory instruction at a DPS certified school.

Similarly, the students will need to log 24 hours of additional behind-the-wheel practice accompanied by an adult who is licensed to drive in the CNMI.

The students’ ability to parallel park will also be evaluated.

The age requirement for enrollment in a driver education course is 15 and a half years.

Under the law, no student will be issued a driver license prior to reaching his or her 16th birthday.

P.L. 15-25 also mandates that individuals wishing to obtain a license to drive a taxi must complete the course, as well as anyone whom the court considers a repeat traffic and or DUI offender.

Those individuals who obtained a learner’s permit prior to June 2, 2008, are exempted from attending the classes, according to DPS.