Graduated Driver Licensing Program May Need to be Revamped According to Teen Crash Study

Tougher driving laws have been enacted across the nation in an effort to curb the number of fatalities and serious injuries among teen drivers. Unfortunately, these laws may have backfired, leading to an increase in fatalities among 18-year-old drivers.

According to a study released this month in the Journal of American Medicine, researchers found that teenagers have delayed getting their driver’s licenses until they turn 18 to avoid the graduated driver licensing restrictions placed on 16-year-olds at the time of licensing. The programs are designed to give new drivers behind-the-wheel experience with an adult.

Many of these programs establish the restrictions by age. The young drivers typically must take a driver’s education course, and they often have nighttime driving restrictions. Currently, every state has some form of graduated driver licensing in place.

One example: Kentucky’s Graduated Driver Licensing Program (GLP) restricts new drivers under the age of 18 to driving between the hours of 6 a.m. and midnight, with some exceptions. Drivers are allowed no more than one unrelated passenger under the age of 20.

“There’s an incentive right now to skip out and just wait until you’re 18,” said Scott Masten, the study’s lead author and a researcher with California’s Department of Motor Vehicles. “In most states you don’t even need to have driver education or driver training” if you obtain a license at 18, he said.

The study examined fatal crashes from 1986 to 2007 involving 16- to 19-year-olds. The authors found that graduated licensing programs with nighttime and passenger restrictions were associated with fewer fatal crashes. However, among 18-year-old drivers, the researchers found there were 12 percent more fatal crashes. The researchers accounted for seatbelt laws, minimum speed limits and the higher number of 18-year-old drivers.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) stated that the findings deserve “attention by researchers and policymakers.” The group added that New Jersey’s graduated driver’s licensing restrictions apply to all first-time applicants younger than 21, leading to lower crash rates among 17- and 18-year-olds. The IIHS suggested further study to determine if the programs should be extended to include older teens.

Our Kentucky car accident lawyers encourage the continued education of teen drivers to help keep our young drivers safe on the highways. We encourage parents to explain the merits of the GLP in Kentucky and have their teens take advantage of driver’s education courses to get the valuable safe driving skills they need.