Supervising a New Driver in Virginia: Parent's Guide
If your teen is going through Virginia's graduated licensing system, your supervised-driving role is built into the law. Here's what your teen needs to log, what restrictions apply, and where parents most commonly slip up.
GDL stages and supervised-driving requirements
We're still gathering verified Virginia data on this; see the full Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) page for the latest.
Phone laws for new drivers
- Handheld phone — banned for all drivers?
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yes
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, Section 3: Safe Driving, Distracted Driving, p. 24
- Texting — banned for all drivers?
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yes
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, Section 3: Safe Driving, Distracted Driving, p. 24
Seatbelt and passenger rules
- Seats required to belt
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all seats
Source: Virginia Driver's Manual, Section 4: Seat Belts, Air Bags and Child Safety Seats, p. 26
- Child seat — age threshold
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under 8 years old
The Virginia Permit-Phase Coaching Plan, free.
The parent's-eye view of the permit phase: Virginia's GDL numbers, the supervised-hours ladder, how to coach mistakes without breaking confidence, and a test-week plan.
Get the free PDF