Most teens don’t like graduated drivers license laws, which they view as an unnecessary restraint on their driving privileges. Just about everyone else — from parents to public health and safety officials — wholeheartedly approve of them. There’s a reason for the latter. The graduated-license rules save lives and make the nation’s roads safer for young drivers, for those who ride with them and for all who share the road with them.
Though the specific wording and extent of regulation varies from state to state, graduated-license laws generally limit youngsters’ driving privileges in some manner during the first year or two they hold a license. Typically, the regulation requires more extensive driver education, longer periods of supervision by adults before and after a license is obtained, restrictions on the number and type of passengers in the car with a teen driver, and limits on the time of day or night a youngster can drive.
The rules are restrictive, especially to youngsters who expect unfettered access to the road when they turn 16. However, they do serve a vital purpose, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. They save lives.
States — including Tennessee and Georgia — in which graduated license laws have been enacted report lower death rates among teen drivers. In Tennessee, for example, the number of deaths among drivers 16-17 declined from 67 in 2004 to 42 in 2008, according to the CDC. In Georgia, the number dropped from 79 to 66 in the same time frame. In a country where vehicular accidents are the leading cause of teenage deaths, such declines are welcome.
The effectiveness of the graduated-license rules is easily demonstrated. According to the CDC, states where restrictions on drivers licenses are the most stringent — New York, New Jersey, California — had lower death rates for teen drivers during the period covered by the study. States where driving license regulations are comparatively lax — Wyoming and Mississippi — had the highest.
Tightening license restrictions for 16- and 17-year-old drivers is not the only reason the number of teen fatalities has declined. The poor economy and high gas prices have combined to reduce the number of miles driven by teens. Air bag rules and enhanced safety rules for passenger vehicles have contributed to fewer deaths and injuries, as well. Even so, experts agree that tougher laws regarding licenses play a major role in reducing teen fatalities on the road.
Many youngsters undoubtedly view graduated-license laws as an unfair impingement on their personal and social freedom. That, of course, is an understandably short-sighted view. The laws, in fact, are designed to protect them and others from death or injury that often result from accidents caused by inexpert or cocksure teen drivers. As the CDC report confirms, they merit strong support.