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By Megan Ross

California gives new teen drivers a year of limits: no driving from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. and no passengers under 20 unless a qualifying adult rides along. The reason is simple. Teens crash far more often than adults, and the first months behind the wheel carry the most risk.

If your kid just got a permit or a provisional license, here is what the rules say, what the data shows, and what to do if the worst happens.

What Does California Require Before a Teen Can Drive Alone?

Under Vehicle Code section 12814.6, the path has several steps:

Hold an instruction permit for at least six months.
Finish approved driver education and driver training.
Log 50 hours of supervised practice, with at least 10 of them in the dark.
Have a parent, guardian or instructor certify those hours.
Pass the DMV tests. After a failed written test, your teen waits at least a week. After a failed driving test, at least two weeks.

While on the permit, your teen can only drive with a California-licensed driver who is 25 or older. That age rule does not apply if the person in the passenger seat is the teen’s parent, spouse or guardian, or a licensed driving instructor.

The DMV also offers a supervised driving log and a parent-teen driving contract on its Teen Driver Tips page. Print both.

What Are the Limits During the First Year?

For the first 12 months after a provisional license is issued, your teen may not do either of these without a parent or guardian, a licensed driver 25 or older, or a licensed driving instructor along:

Drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Carry passengers under 20.

The law lists narrow exceptions for medical need, school activities, work, and a family necessity when reasonable transportation is not available. Each one requires the teen to carry a signed statement with a probable end date. A doctor, a school official, an employer or a parent signs it, depending on the reason.

Police cannot pull a car over only to check these limits. Still, a teen caught breaking them after a stop for something else faces 8 to 16 hours of community service or a fine of up to $35 for a first offense.

Phones are a separate rule. California law bars minors from using a cell phone or wireless device to answer calls, or to send or respond to texts, while driving. The only exception is calling for emergency help, according to the DMV driver handbook.

How Risky Are the First Years, Really?

Here is the national picture.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that 2,899 teens ages 13 to 19 died in crashes in 2024. Per mile driven, the fatal crash rate for drivers 16 to 19 is about three times the rate for drivers 20 and older.
The federal safety agency NHTSA counted 2,320 people killed in crashes involving a teen driver ages 15 to 18 in 2024. It also reports that 51% of teen passenger vehicle drivers who died that year were not wearing a seat belt.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says crash risk is particularly high during the first months of licensure. At night, the fatal crash rate for drivers 16 to 19 is about three times that of drivers 30 to 59 per mile driven, based on 2020 data.
IIHS found that 35% of teen driving deaths in 2024 happened between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Passengers matter too. In a study NHTSA analyzed, teen drivers were two and a half times more likely to take a risk with one teen passenger than when driving alone. With several passengers, that rose to three times.

These numbers describe groups of drivers, not your kid. They do explain why the state limits nights and passengers, and why many parents keep their own limits going past the first year.

What House Rules Should You Add?

The law is a floor. A few rules worth writing down in the DMV’s parent-teen contract:

Seat belts every trip. With 51% of those teen drivers unbuckled, this is the easiest rule to enforce and the one that matters most.
Phone out of reach. Set directions before the car moves, then stow the phone.
Passenger cap past month 12. NHTSA’s own recommendation is no more than one teen passenger for the first year, then two until 18.
Earlier curfew on school nights. The state’s 11 p.m. cutoff is late for a tired 16-year-old.
A no-questions pickup. If a ride feels wrong, your teen calls and you come. The lecture can wait until morning.
Practice where they will actually drive. Freeway merges, left turns across busy streets and school pickup lines each deserve their own session.

The DMV’s checklist for parents also reminds you that you can cancel your teen’s license at any time and for any reason. Say that out loud before the first solo drive.

What Should Your Teen Do After a First Crash?

Talk this through before it happens. The DMV driver handbook lays out the steps:

Leaving the scene is a hit-and-run.
Call 911 if anyone is hurt. If no one is hurt, move the car out of traffic first, then call.
Share information. Show a license, registration, insurance details and current address to the other driver and any officer.
Report an injury or death to law enforcement within 24 hours.
File the DMV report. Every driver involved must file an SR 1 report with the DMV within 10 days if anyone was hurt or property damage tops $1,000, whether or not they caused the crash. The DMV can suspend a license if the report is not filed.

Know the money side too. The handbook says parents or guardians take on financial responsibility for drivers under 18 and pay for damages if the driver is in a collision. California’s minimum liability coverage is $30,000 for one person’s injury or death, $60,000 for more than one person, and $15,000 for property damage.

One more provision is easy to miss. A provisional driver who collects two points in 12 months faces a 30-day restriction, and three points brings a six-month suspension and a year of probation. If DMV action comes from a crash, the teen can ask in writing, within 10 days, for a hearing to show they were not responsible.

Every crash is different, and this article is general information, not legal advice. If someone was hurt, talk to a licensed California attorney about your family’s situation. If you live in Los Angeles and want a longer checklist, the Los Angeles car accident attorneys at Moe Abdallah Law publish free guides on what to do after a crash.

Start with the contract and the driving log this week. Fill them in together, and keep the keys until both of you have signed.

Megan Ross writes about home, family life and everyday safety for Local Press Desk, a PR agency that works with Moe Abdallah Law.

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