Graduated Licensing Q&A
What is graduated driver licensing?
Why target only young people? Why not target all novice drivers?
Isn't it unfair to restrict all teenage drivers? Why not just penalize the problem drivers?
Can graduated licensing reduce crashes and save the lives of young people?
Is a nighttime driving restriction a critical component of graduated licensing?
When should the nighttime driving restrictions begin? How early?
Are passenger restrictions necessary in a graduated system?
What guarantees more supervised driving will occur under graduated licensing?
Do parents support graduated licensing programs?
How much does it cost a state to run a graduated licensing system?
Who supports graduated licensing?
Shouldn't teenagers be allowed to drive to school, work, and their extracurricular activities?
Isn't driver education enough preparation for licensure?What is graduated driver licensing?
It's a system designed to phase in young beginners to full driving privileges as they mature and develop their driving skills. Versions of graduated licensing exist in New Zealand, Australia and Canada. More recently, graduated licensing has been introduced in many U.S. states. There are three stages to a full graduated system, and beginners must remain in each of the first two stages for set minimum time periods: supervised learner's period (Instruction Permit); intermediate license (Restricted Minor's Permit), after the driver test is passed, limiting unsupervised driving in high-risk situations; and then a license with full privileges, available after completing the first two stages. Key elements of the intermediate stage include limits on late-night unsupervised driving and transporting teenage passengers. Certification that a learner's permit holder has driven a minimum number of supervised hours also is important.
Some state laws meet or exceed these core requirements, while others have just some of them. Many states have augmented their graduated systems with additional features including driver education innovations, seat belt use provisions, and penalty systems in which violations result in license suspension or extension of the holding period. See Status Report, Vol. 35, No. 10, December 20, 2000 Special issue: state traffic safety laws.
Why target only young people? Why not target all novice drivers?
The rationale for special policies for young beginning drivers is that their crash risk is particularly high. Sixteen-year-old drivers have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age, including older teenagers.
The very youngest drivers are most likely to engage in risky behaviors such as speeding and tailgating. Because of their inexperience, beginners are least able to cope with hazardous situations. When this is combined with their aggressive driving style, a high crash rate results. Graduated licensing introduces beginners into the driving population in a low-risk manner, protecting both them and others. Graduated licensing systems could apply to all first-time drivers as they do outside the United States. In this country, however, young people make up the majority of beginning drivers, and graduated systems now being considered in most states would focus on these drivers. It should be noted that young people are subject to legal restrictions in a variety of areas such as voting, purchasing alcohol, serving in the military, and assuming financial obligations.
Isn't it unfair to restrict all teenage drivers? Why not just penalize the problem drivers?
We know some characteristics of younger drivers who are more likely than others to be in crashes, but it's impossible to identify them adequately on an individual basis and intervene before they get into crashes. Many U.S. licensing systems impose greater and/or earlier penalties on young people for traffic infractions than they do on older drivers, but most fatally injured young drivers don't have prior traffic violations or crashes on their records. The logic of addressing all young people is that they all are beginners when they start driving. Every novice needs time to develop driving skills in low-risk settings.
Two factors in particular work against young drivers: inexperience and immaturity. Young drivers need time to develop driving skills and the judgment to counteract their lack of on-the-road experience. Young drivers tend to be immature and impulsive, overestimating their own physical and driving abilities and underestimating dangers in the driving environment. This leads them to risky driving behaviors such as speeding, passing inappropriately, following too closely, and driving without seat belts. Young drivers frequently drive during nighttime high-risk hours, often with peers in the vehicle. Passengers can cause distractions and create peer pressure to participate in risky behavior. Teen passengers increase the crash risk for teenage drivers both during the day and at night. Considerable driving experience is required, after initial licensing, before a young novice achieves the dependable skills, judgment, and performance that result in safe driving.
Can graduated licensing reduce crashes and save the lives of young people?
Yes. Graduated licensing programs have had a positive effect on the crash experience of young drivers in the United States and other countries, including Canada and New Zealand. In states that have adopted elements of graduated licensing, the safety benefits are evident. In Florida, which instituted a graduated system for drivers younger than 18 in July 1996, there was a 9 percent reduction in fatal and injury crash involvement for 15-17 year-olds in 1997, the first full year of graduated licensing, compared with 1995. Among 16 year-old drivers, Michigan saw a 25 percent reduction in crashes, while North Carolina experienced a 23 percent reduction. Ohio's program led to a 23 percent crash reduction among 16 and 17 year-olds. In Nova Scotia, crash reductions for 16 year-olds ranged from 23 to 37 percent.
Is a nighttime driving restriction a critical component of graduated licensing?
Yes. Forty-one percent of teenage motor vehicle deaths in 2002 occurred between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Studies show nighttime driving restrictions are associated with crash reductions of up to 60 percent during restricted hours.
These are different from curfews, which are viewed as means to get young people off the streets and into their homes at a set time. Communities often adopt curfews to reduce criminal or mischievous behavior, but the purpose of night driving restrictions is to protect young beginners by keeping them from driving unsupervised during nighttime high-risk hours. As part of a graduated licensing system, young beginners are encouraged to gain nighttime driving experience, but with adult supervision rather than with peers. Driving at night with peers in the car can lead to distractions and result in risky behavior, thus creating a greater crash risk.
When should the nighttime driving restrictions begin? How early?
The majority of nighttime crashes occur in the hours before midnight. This is the time when more young people are out on the roads. Therefore, nighttime driving restrictions should begin several hours before midnight.
Are passenger restrictions necessary in a graduated system?
The presence of teenage passengers in the car of beginning teenage drivers increases crash risk compared with driving alone; the more passengers, the greater the risk. The presence of teenage passengers increases crash risk both day and night. Therefore passenger restrictions are an important component of a graduated system.
Increased risk with passengers present is thought to be largely the result of distraction and risk-taking factors. In vehicles with other occupants, there is often considerable verbal interaction, music playing, and sometimes physical interactions. At the beginning stages of driving, inattentiveness to the task can have serious consequences.
What guarantees more supervised driving will occur under graduated licensing?
There can be no guarantee. A young beginner can be encouraged to participate by requiring parents to attest to supervised training, by providing parents and teens with instructional materials, and by requiring successful passage of a more advanced performance test.
Do parents support graduated licensing programs?
Yes, parents strongly favor graduated licensing. A 1996 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety survey of parents of 15 year-olds in Florida who were about to enter a graduated licensing system found 95 percent of the parents supported a minimum period of supervised driving. Ninety percent favored night driving restrictions, 60 percent favored restricting teen passengers during the first few months of driving, and 74 percent of the parents favored a graduated licensing system that includes all of these components. When these same parents were interviewed three years later, after their children had gone through Florida's graduated system, support for the restrictions was even stronger.
Also in 1996, parents of teenagers surveyed in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York said they strongly support graduated licensing requirements. A 2001 study noted that seventy-nine percent of parents of teens subject to graduated licensing in California strongly favored the system. Although many parents want their children to get licenses early so they no longer have to be taken to school, work, or social activities, these same parents worry about the risks their children will be taking as new young drivers.
How much does it cost a state to run a graduated licensing system?
States with such systems have found that the benefits far outweigh any costs. For example, in Oregon administrative costs were estimated at $150,000 while the benefits were estimated at nearly $11 million. This amounts to a benefit-to-cost ratio of better than 74 to 1. Both Maryland and California also report lifesaving and injury-reducing benefits well in excess of the administrative costs associated with implementing a graduated licensing program.
Who supports graduated licensing?
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, American Automobile Association, American Coalition for Traffic Safety, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Insurance Association, Brain Injury Association, The Centers for Disease Control, General Federation of Women's Clubs, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, International Association of Chiefs of Police, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Additional supporters include the Governor's Highway Safety Association, National Association of Independent Insurers, National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health, National Commission Against Drunk Driving, National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Safety Council, National Sheriffs' Association, National Transportation Safety Board, Police Executive Research Forum, USAA Insurance, The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States and its member companies, The Century Council, and The Beer Institute and its members.
Shouldn't teenagers be allowed to drive to school, work, and their extracurricular activities?
Yes. States can and do allow waivers so a teenager may drive during restricted times to work or to attend school activities. These exemptions don't reduce the restrictions' effectiveness because the increased crash risk to teens at night is largely due to the combination of more difficult driving conditions and distractions caused by teenage passengers. Young people driving to work are unlikely to have teen passengers. Another concern is the administrative burden on states that have to issue many waivers. Maryland examined this when it implemented a nighttime driving restriction and found it wasn't a problem.
Graduated licensing does delay full licensure, but the evidence indicates it doesn't significantly hinder social activities. Studies indicate that 16 year-olds have largely similar lifestyles in terms of social, dating, and work patterns, whether they live in states where many, some, or few 16 year-olds are licensed.
Isn't driver education enough preparation for licensure?
A good driver education course, emphasizing on-the-road driving, is an effective way to learn basic vehicle control skills. Extensive research indicates that high school driver education doesn't lead to lower crash involvement compared with other ways of learning to drive. Attitudes, decision-making skills, risk-taking tendencies, and other factors contribute in an important way to crashes and may not be affected much by driver education.
As indicated in a 1994 Report to Congress by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, experts agree that current novice driver education programs aren't doing a very good job of motivating youngsters to drive safely. Any driver education program should be integrated with a graduated licensing system.
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