Young people are typically excited to get to drive for the first time, but how much do you think about the risks you take when you get behind the wheel? You know you’re less experienced than adult drivers, but how much does that really make a difference? You took driver’s education, so shouldn’t you be okay?
Actually, there is good reason for concern. Auto insurance is more expensive for teen drivers, especially males, because these drivers are involved in more accidents. According to Insurance Journal, “More than 81,000 people were killed in crashes involving drivers ages 15 to 20 in the decade from 2000 to 2009, making teen driving crashes the leading cause of teen deaths nationwide.”
Teen drivers are only 6 percent of all drivers in Kentucky, but they are involved in 21 percent of all accidents in the state (see Impact of Partial Graduated Driver’s License Program…). Driver’s education should prepare teens to drive safely, but so far it has not been enough. And Kentucky has implemented graduated driver licensing, which has saved many lives, but our graduated licensing program is not up to national standards.
Kentucky’s licensing program begins with a 6-month learning permit stage, which may begin as soon as Age 16. There is then anintermediate license stage until Age 18 and, finally, an adult driver’s license.
The initial, permit stage has a restriction on driving after midnight; it requires adult-supervised driving at all times; and there is a six-point limit on traffic violations. The penalty for excessive violations is license suspension.
The intermediate stage also has a six-point limit on traffic violations, with a penalty of license suspension. It also requires a 4-H driver safety education class or other driver’s education course.
Besides these restrictions, blood alcohol limits are lower (0.02 dl/ml) for drivers younger than Age 21. However, Kentucky places no limits on the number or ages of passengers for teen drivers, as long as those at the permit stage have an adult driver in the front passenger seat.
Kentucky’s graduated driver’s licensing program does not meet national standards for these programs because it does not include: a visually distinguishable intermediate stage license; a limit on unsupervised nighttime driving for those in the intermediate stage; and a requirement that the driver be free of traffic violations for a specific period before he or she may move on to the next level of licensure (Impact of Partial Graduated Driver’s License Program…).
Rather than revoking licenses, which often leads to teens driving without licenses or insurance, it might help for the state to respond to violations by making teens wait longer to move to the next level of licensure. According to the journal, Injury Prevention, this could lead to fewer violations and safer driving down the road.
A study in Injury Prevention found that many teens and parents do not know about the nighttime driving restrictions involved in Kentucky’s graduated driver’s licensing program, and many of them are not providing the necessary number of hours of one-on-one driver training. Teens at the permit stage are getting too few hours of actual driving experience, which leaves them not ready for the intermediate stage when they may drive without an adult in the car.
The Allstate Foundation License to Save Report, developed in conjunction with the National Safety Council, “found that over the last 20 years, graduated driver licensing laws have already saved an estimated 15,000 lives.” Implementation of such laws in all 50 states could save many more lives and “could generate savings of $13.6 billion per year” (Insurance Journal).
So make sure you get all the driver’s training you can now. Get all the experience you can before moving on to the intermediate licensing stage. If your parent or other trusted adult is not giving you the help you need, then ask for help. It’s much better to get that help now than to have an accident!
Readers: Tell us what you think!
If you are driving now and have already had an accident, how much extra are you now paying for vehicle insurance?
Is graduated licensing for teenagers a good idea? Explain why or why not?
Do you agree or disagree that new drivers are more likely than more experienced drivers to lose focus while driving and not pay attention to the road?
Have you or someone you know been affected by a car accident involving a new driver?
How can you drive more safely? (Speed, risk-taking, courtesy, for instance.)?
If teens are going to be restricted further in their driving, do you think the law should be changed to require that adults who have had more than one accident in which they were at fault within a two-year period must pass road tests to keep their license?
Author: Alex Lesueur, Jr., M.S.L.S., Family Sciences, University of Kentucky
Sources: Agent, Kenneth R., et al. (2001). Impact of Partial Graduated Driver’s License Program on Teen Motor Vehicle Crashes in Kentucky.Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 1779, 54-60. First-page preview retrieved December 12, 2011, from http://trb.metapress.com/
Steenbergen, L. C., et al. (2001). Kentucky’s Graduated Driver Licensing Program for Young Drivers: Barriers to Effective Local Implementation. Injury Prevention. 7, 286-291. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from http://injuryprevention.bmj.
Wells Publishing. (2011, December 7). Graduated Driver Licensing Could Save 2,000 Lives, $13.6 Billion: Study. Insurance Journal. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from http://www.insurancejournal.
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