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Teen Drivers

By Irene Kawanabe, Policy Specialist

Teen drivers are more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than the rest of the general driving population. Safety experts have examined numerous teen driver issues to determine the reasons for the higher fatality rate. This paper examines graduated driver licensing, state enactment of graduated driver licensing laws, driver education, linking licenses to non-driving related issues, alcohol and seat belt use.

Overview

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, injury from motor vehicle crashes is the leading cause of death among U.S. teenagers. Crash rates among drivers between ages 16 to 19, per mile driven, are higher than those for all other age groups. The crash risk among 16- to 17-year-old drivers is almost three times as high as among 18- to 19-year-old drivers. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, young drivers' inexperience and risk taking have contributed to the high incidence of crashes. The inexperience of young drivers makes it difficult for them to recognize and respond to hazards, resulting in unsafe driving practices. These unsafe practices manifest themselves in risk taking behavior such as speeding, tailgating and not wearing seat belts.

Graduated driver licensing (GDL) attempts to address youthful risk taking and inexperience, by limiting exposure to high risk situations and gradually phasing in the driving privilege. GDL allows the young drivers to gain experience and maturity under controlled conditions before progressing to more risky driving situations.

State Action

Forty-three states and the District of Columbia have enacted some or all of the elements of graduated licensing (Appendix A). According to highway safety groups, most states have enacted the core elements of a graduated licensing plan in accordance with the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances (NCUTLO). The core NCUTLO components are a learner's phase of at least six months, an intermediate license phase of at least six months that also includes a prohibition against unsupervised nighttime driving, and full licensure. Drivers must remain free of traffic violations during the license phases. Eleven other states have at least some of these provisions.

In the early 1970's NHTSA developed a model GDL program. This model program was a three step licensing process that phased in the licensing privilege. Key elements of NHTSA's program are: a learners permit, an intermediate or provisional license and the full unrestricted license. The learner permit must be retained for a minimum of 6 months. The permit holder must pass a vision and rules-of-the-road test, successfully complete a formal driver education course and complete 50 hours of supervised driving. The driver and all passengers must wear seat belts at all times and must remain crash and conviction free for a minimum of six consecutive months. For the intermediate license the driver must have successfully completed the learner permit phase. During the intermediate phase the license holder must hold the license for a minimum of six months, complete advanced driver education, drive under supervision during the restricted night time hours and comply with the state's zero tolerance laws for alcohol. As with the permit phase, the driver and passengers must wear seat belts at all times. A passenger restriction, limiting non-family members from riding during the first few months is a suggested provision as well. Should the intermediate license holder remain crash and conviction free for a minimum of six months, they become eligible for a full unrestricted license.

In 1999, 41 percent of motor vehicle deaths among teenagers occurred between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. A nighttime driving restriction is a key element of a graduated licensing system, according to safety advocates. The nighttime restriction is not a curfew, but a requirement for supervised nighttime driving. The night driving environment is a more difficult situation to master for all drivers because of reduced visibility, glare from oncoming traffic and fatigue. The risk of fatal crashes at night for all drivers is approximately 30 to 40 times greater than during the day. This risk is higher for teen drivers.

A study in North Carolina showed that the time for highest risk to teens was between 9 p.m. and midnight. As a result of the facts, the North Carolina legislature included a nighttime driving restriction from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. in their graduated licensing law. South Carolina adopted restricted nighttime driving from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., the earliest requirement for nighttime supervised driving in the country. Idaho restricts teen drivers from driving unsupervised from sunset to sunrise. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have nighttime driving restrictions, although the times vary (Appendix A).

Another component of graduated licensing systems is the requirement that novice drivers complete a specified amount of supervised driving practice (Appendix A). California, Michigan and Ohio require 50 hours with 10 of those at night while Illinois requires 25 hours and Massachusetts 12 hours. Increased parental involvement in the education process is a cornerstone of AAA's Licensed to Learn program. Licensed to Learn is a program designed to improve teen driving through driver training from a professional instructor, combined with an additional 50 to 100 hours of adult-supervised driving experience.

One of the rationales behind passenger restrictions is that teen drivers can be distracted by teen passengers. Studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that teenage drivers are at much greater risk of being involved in a fatal crash when teen passengers are present as opposed to driving alone or with an adult. A NHTSA report in 1998 showed that 58 percent of teenagers killed in crashes were riding in a car driven by a teenager.

California was the first state to impose passenger restrictions as part of its graduated licensing system. For the first six months of the provisional license, drivers are prohibited from transporting passengers under age 20 unless accompanied by a parent or an adult over 25. A family exemption allows teens unaccompanied by an adult to drive immediate family members under age 20 during the first six months with parental authorization. Eighteen other states-Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin-and the District of Columbia now impose passenger restrictions on novice drivers.

Evidence of Effectiveness of Graduated Driver Licensing

There have been numerous studies conducted following the passage of GDL laws. Florida was the first state to enact comprehensive GDL legislation on July 1, 1996. An evaluation of Florida's graduated license law showed a nine percent reduction in fatality and injury crashes among 15- to 17-year-old drivers. Michigan's law took effect on April 1, 1997. An evaluation of the Michigan law, in 2000, at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute examined the crash rates of 16-year-old drivers before and after the GDL law. The study found that the rate of 16-year-old drivers (per 1,000 population) involved in crashes declined from 154 in 1996 to 111 in 1999. After adjusting for population trends, the overall crash risk for 16-year-olds was reduced 25 percent between 1999 and 1996. There were also significant reductions in non-fatal injuries and both fatal and nonfatal crashes.

In North Carolina, the law became effective on Dec. 1, 1997, and, despite an increase of nearly 500,000 new drivers, the number of youth fatalities declined slightly in the first year of their GDL law. A report by the University of North Carolina's Highway Safety Research Institute indicated North Carolina's graduated licensing law is being credited with a 29 percent decline in crashes involving 16-year-olds. The law is attributed with having an even greater effect on nighttime crashes, reducing late night crashes for 16-year-old drivers by 47 percent.

Other Teen Driving Issues

Most states require some kind of formal driver's education for a young novice driver. These courses, which are typically 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours on the road, have been available for decades. The assumption for these courses is that they improve driver safety. However, a 1970s study done in DeKalb County, Ga., dispelled this assumption. Nevertheless while these courses may not improve driver safety, they do teach the rules of the road. Many states require teens to spend time in the classroom and behind the wheel. In Vermont and Virginia, the instruction includes specific in-class components on drug and alcohol abuse, aggressive driving, railroad crossings, and organ and tissue donation. The Kentucky administrative code specifies components of the driver's education curriculum. Instruction must include at least 45 minutes on the dangers of alcohol and drugs, at least 45 minutes on defensive and perceptive driving, at least 30 minutes on seat belt use, at least 45 minutes on driver behavior, and at least 30 minutes on rules of the road.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety developed a model driver education curriculum in 1995. The model uses adaptive and experiential programs that stimulate and incorporate advances in knowledge and technology. The curriculum also provides for the development of interactive computer learning tools to improve decision making, as well as instruction that support parental involvement.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, NHTSA and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators believe that the most effective place for driver education is in a GDL system. Teens are required to complete a basic driver education course during the learner permit stage and an advanced safety course in the intermediate stage. The rationale behind the advanced safety course is that once the teen driver has accumulated some behind the wheel experience they are then ready to begin learning the 'safety' aspects of driving. A novice driver who has not mastered the basic technical aspects of driving is not ready to learn the advanced concept of safe driving. Michigan was the first state to include this educational process as part of its graduated license law.

Many states are linking the privilege to drive with good school attendance in the hope that the driving will be an incentive to stay in school. At least 16 states require proof of enrollment and good standing in school to obtain a learner's permit or license. Other states penalize students who drop out of school by withdrawing their licenses.

Besides linking teen driving to school attendance, states have linked other issues to driving privileges as well. At least 38 states permit the court or agency to withdraw a teen's license for alcohol possession. In Nevada, courts may suspend a license if a teen is found guilty of a graffiti or firearms violation. South Dakota and Florida teens can lose their license if they are convicted of possession of tobacco. In the 2002 legislative session, Colorado considered a bill that would revoke driving privileges if a teen is guilty of aggravated motor vehicle theft. The bill, however, did not pass out of committee.

According to NHTSA, in 2000, 21 percent of the young drivers who were killed in crashes were measured at a blood alcohol content level (BAC) of .10 or greater. Three percent of teen drivers involved in property-damage crashes, five percent of teens involved in injury crashes, and 22 percent involved in fatal crashes, but not driving, had been drinking. A major concern of licensing and safety advocates is teen drivers are less likely to use a seat belt restraint when they have been drinking. Sixty-nine percent of the teen drivers involved in fatal alcohol crashes, in 2000, were unrestrained. Of the teen drivers who were killed in alcohol crashes, 80 percent were unrestrained.

All 50 states have enacted zero tolerance laws for all drivers under the age of 21. A zero tolerance law sets a maximum BAC of .02 or less for minors and suspends or revokes an offender's driver's license. The reason for a BAC of .02 instead of .00 is to avoid claims by minors that they have ingested medications with small amounts of alcohol. In the NHTSA report "Determine Why There Are Fewer Young Alcohol-Impaired Drivers," several evaluations have shown that zero tolerance laws reduce youth drinking and driving crashes. One study of 12 states that lowered BAC limits for young drivers before 1991 found a 22 percent reduction in single vehicle nighttime fatal crashes in states with a .00 BAC limit, compared with a 2 percent reduction in other states. The study further found a 17 percent reduction in states with a .02 BAC limit compared with a 4 percent increase in comparison states and no effect in states with a .04 to .06 BAC limit.

Even though all states except New Hampshire require passengers and drivers to wear seat belts, teen drivers and their passengers have the lowest usage rate for all age groups. In 1999, 64 percent of teens, ages 15 to 18 who were killed in crashes, were not wearing seat belts. For teen drivers involved in fatal crashes, 39 percent were not using restraints and among those killed, 55 percent were not using a seat belt.

Most of the state laws cover front-seat passengers only. Seventeen states-Alabama, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas- and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have primary seat belt laws, meaning that law enforcement officers are allowed to stop a vehicle solely for a seat belt violation. Laws in the other states are considered secondary , which require law enforcement officers to pull the vehicle over for another offense before issuing a seat belt violation ticket. In states with primary enforcement laws, seat belt use averages 78 percent. States without primary enforcement laws average about 67 percent use.

According to an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety survey of 12 New England high schools, just over half of teenagers use seat belts even when their parents are driving them to school. The survey, conducted at six high schools in Massachusetts and six in Connecticut, found that in cars driven by adults, 56 percent of teenage girls and 50 percent of teenage boys wore belts. Among the adult drivers, 71 percent of women and 63 percent of men wore belts. The study, released May 21, 2002, found that when the driver was a teenager, only 52 percent of female passengers and 42 percent of male passengers wore belts. This figure compares to the national average where seat belt use is about 74 percent. In the study, the lowest use was among teenage passengers riding with adult drivers who were unbelted. In that case, just 8 percent of teenagers buckled up, the survey found. Where the adult was wearing a seat belt, 46 percent of teenage passengers wore belts.

Conclusion

Teen drivers have a higher risk to be involved in fatal crashes. Immaturity, inexperience and high risk behavior are major contributing factors in their high crash rates. Graduated driver licensing is one way legislatures have addressed the concern for teen safety. The majority of the states have enacted some form of graduated driver licensing. Several studies have shown graduated licensing to be effective in reducing teen crashes and fatalities. States also have linked teen licensing privileges to other related behavior.

Appendix A

Graduated Licensing Laws by State

Contact for More Information:

Irene Kawanabe, Policy Specialist
NCSL Transportation Program

Links

American Automobile Association
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
National Transportation Safety Board
NCSL Highway Safety Legislative Tracking

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