October 1, 1976
Mr. Don Dahlin
Department of Public Safety
Division of Highway Safety
Pierre, South Dakota 57501
OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 76-92
Retesting minors holding restricted permits
Dear Mr. Dahlin:
You have requested an official opinion from this office in regard to the following questions:
QUESTIONS:
1. Can the Department of Public Safety lawfully allow a minor with a restricted permit to obtain an operator's license by only passing an eye test and not requiring them to take the written and driving portions of the test?
2. Since the Department gives examinations in a community only once or twice a month, when a restricted permit holder, who will be sixteen in two weeks, comes in for an operator's license, would it be lawful to test him then and not issue the operator's license until the individual is sixteen years old?
IN RE QUESTION 1:
SDCL 32-12-4 requires the Department of Public Safety to examine every applicant for an operator's license, and to include in such examination a test of the applicant's eyesight, his ability to read and understand highway signs which regulate and direct traffic, his knowledge of the traffic laws of this state, and an actual demonstration of the individual's ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in the operation of a motor vehicle.
SDCL 32-12-12 allows the Department of Public Safety to issue a restricted permit to a minor between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, if such minor has passed all driver's license examination tests. This section of the code does not state if this restricted permit is classified as an operator's license, an instructor's permit, or a temporary license. Obviously, such a restricted permit is not an instructor's permit, since that is provided for in SDCL 32-12-11. It follows then that the restricted permit must be considered as being either in the form of an operator's license or a temporary license.
SDCL 32-12-19 defines what a temporary license is and how one may be obtained. Clearly, a restricted permit is not within the boundaries of the definition of such a "temporary license."
Accordingly, since the Department of Public Safety can issue licenses only in three categories (operator's license, instructor's permit, or temporary license) and since the restricted permit cannot be either a temporary license or an instructor's permit, the restricted permit must fall under the category of being an "operator's license."
Consequently, when a minor reaches the age of sixteen, and applies for an operator's license, and if the minor holds a valid restricted permit, the Department of Public Safety is only issuing to the person a different form of an operator's license. Since the minor has previously passed all of the tests required of an ordinary operator's license holder, it is my opinion that he is essentially renewing his license rather than applying for a new one. Thus, it is my opinion that the Department may issue an operator's license to an individual who holds a restricted permit, upon obtaining the age of sixteen, by only requiring the individual to submit to an eye test, if the other provisions of SDCL 32-12-43 are complied with. SDCL 32-12-43 requires the Department to examine an applicant for a renewal in the same manner as upon an original application except when the person has had no conviction of a motor vehicle law or motor vehicle ordinance violation for four years immediately preceding the application.
IN RE QUESTION 2:
SDCL 32-12-42 allows the holder of an operator's permit to renew such permit 180 days prior to its expiration upon application and payment of the required fee. Under the reasoning of the above-cited statute and the opinion expressed above, the restricted permit is considered a form of an operator's license and, therefore, it would be appropriate to test the person holding the restricted permit before his sixteenth birthday and then issue the operator's permit upon the person becoming sixteen years of age.
Respectfully submitted,
WILLIAM J. JANKLOW
ATTORNEY GENERAL
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