01133880

Component

http://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/161810.aspx

Despite the promising evidence for the effectiveness of Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL), the policy faces a number of hurdles. Although 44 states have adopted a three-phased program, the elements within each phase adopted by states vary considerably. Two of the GDL components involve a practical cost to some families: “no teen passengers” means big brother cannot drive sister to piano lessons, and “no nighttime driving” means daughter cannot pick up and drive mom home from her evening job. Legislators and parents must have a clear appreciation for the safety benefits if they are to accept the trade-offs required by GDL restrictions. More significantly, the GDL system places the major part of the enforcement effort on the parent. Police may on occasion stop a vehicle with a young-looking driver to check driving permit status, but the GDL limitations are likely to be ignored much of the time unless the parent takes a personal interest in enforcing the rules. In addition to strengthening their GDL laws if justified, states will need to invest in public information programs to gain parental support for supervising their teen drivers. To support programs directed at persuading parental investment in such activities, additional evidence on the extent that GDL and its two more onerous provisions, passenger and nighttime restrictions, are significantly reducing novice driver deaths is needed. In this brief report, the authors examine the trend in crash involvement for two groups of underage drivers (15- to 17-year-olds and 18- to 20-year-olds) in relation to the growth in the number of states enacting GDL laws since 1995.

01133870

English

pp 103-113

2009-6

Transportation Research Circular

Young Impaired Drivers: The Nature of the Problem and Possible Solutions

Web

Figures (6) ; References

Fatalities; Graduated licensing; Law enforcement; Parents; Public information programs; Single vehicle crashes; State laws; Teenage drivers; Trend (Statistics)

Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

TRIS, TRB

Jul 16 2009 11:10AM

• A Review of the Young Impaired Driver Problem in Australia, with a Particular Focus on New South Wales
• Alcohol Monitoring Technologies: Applications for Youth and Young Impaired Drivers
• Crash Types: Markers of Increased Risk of Alcohol-Involved Crashes Among Teen Drivers
• Criminal Sanctions for Young Impaired Drivers
• Drink Driving and Drug Driving Enforcement Strategies in Australia
• Effects of 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age Laws on Alcohol-Related Driving in the United States
• Effects of a College Community Campaign on Drinking and Driving with a Strong Enforcement Component
• Females and Alcohol-Related Fatal Crashes: Exposure-Adjusted Trends
• History and Effects of Graduated Licensing and Zero Tolerance
• Lack of Information from National Surveys: What We Still Need to Learn About Transition Teens
• Psychosocial and Behavioral Factors That Predict Impaired and Other Risky Driving: Findings from a Longitudinal Study
• The Consequences of Providing Drinkers with BAC Information on Assessments of Alcohol Impairment and Drunk-Driving Risk
• The Impact of Underage Drinking and Related Laws on Youth Alcohol-Related Fatal Crashes
• The Nature of the Young Impaired Driver Problem in Europe
• The Perspective on Campus
• The Potential for Nighttime Enforcement and Seat Belt Law Upgrades to Impact Alcohol-Related Deaths Among High-Risk Occupants
• Young DUI Offenders Seen in Substance Abuse Treatment
• Young Impaired Driver Involvement in Fatal Crashes
• Young Impaired Drivers: The Nature of the Problem and the Strategies Being Used in the Military