Driver Education and Licensing Improvement Act of 2004
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S251-252)
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jan 26, 2004
Driver Education and Licensing Improvement Act of 2004 - Modifies eligibility requirements for grants for support of alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures to require a multiple-stage graduated licensing system for young drivers that: (1) authorizes the issuance of an initial license or learner's permit no earlier than the driver's 16th birthday; (2) prohibits a person under age 21 with a blood alcohol concentration of .02 percent or greater from operating a motor vehicle; (3) provides for a learning stage and an intermediate stage of at least six months each; (4) limits the numbers of passengers; (5) limits nighttime driving, and (6) applies special penalties for violations of system restrictions and of other State motor vehicle laws.
Establishes a National Office of Driver Training in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Includes among the Office's functions to develop and make available to the States a recommended curriculum that incorporates best practices in driver education and licensing.
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to carry out grant programs to provide financial assistance to: (1) States to support the improvement of motor vehicle driver education programs and the establishment and improved administration of graduated licensing systems; and (2) eligible recipients to carry out campaigns to increase public awareness of, and training on, State law authority and procedures to provide for organ donation through a declaration recorded on a driver license.
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Directs the Secretary to carry out a study to determine whether the establishment and imposition of nationwide minimum standards of driver education would improve national highway traffic safety.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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