Winter 2010
 

The Basics of Graduated Driver’s Licenses
Jessica Kaufman, MD, Department of Pediatrics
University of Iowa Children’s Hospital

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, fatal car crashes are the number one cause of death for teenagers nationwide, responsible for close to one-third of all deaths of those between the ages of 15 to 20. In 2006, 3,490 drivers ages 15 to 20 died and another 272,000 were injured. While teenage drivers make up only slightly less than 7 percent of all licensed drivers, they are involved in almost 13 percent of all fatal crashes. In Iowa, motor vehicle traffic deaths are the leading cause of injury for Iowans ages 1 to 34.

Graduated Driver’s License (GDL) regulations seek to reduce these numbers, by addressing three characteristics that contribute to teens’ high probability for causing automobile crashes: inexperience, distractibility, and a tendency toward risk-taking behavior. For the regulations to be effective, they must be upheld and reinforced by parents, educators, healthcare providers, and law enforcement.

Graduated driver’s licensing attempts to create a safe learning environment for drivers of different skill and experience levels while keeping these characteristics in mind.

Inexperience
As with any other skill, driving takes time and practice to learn.  Technical abilities and good judgment are gained by experiencing different driving scenarios. Inexperience, especially in the setting of night-driving, highway driving/interstate driving, or adverse weather conditions, is a major contributor to accidents within the first few years of driving. 

Distractibility
Adding one teenage passenger to a teenager’s vehicle increases the chances of having a car accident by 50 percent. Talking and text-messaging on cell phones draws attention from the road. Immature brain development, especially in the pre-frontal cortex that controls multitasking and decision-making skills, makes these behaviors especially dangerous for teenagers.  

Risk-taking behaviors
Teenagers often feel invulnerable, leading to speeding, tailgating, and failure to utilize seat belts. Peer pressure can increase the willingness to take risks. Alcohol also contributes to risk-taking behaviors, especially for older adolescents.
 

How GDL works
Graduated driver’s licensing is composed of three stages. The beginning stage requires completion of a driver’s education course, along with driving a specified number of hours while accompanied by a licensed adult. The intermediate stage allows unaccompanied driving, but it is limited to hours of least risk. Full licensure only is available after the completion of the previous two stages and upon reaching a specified age. 

The ideal GDL as advocated by the American Academy of Pediatrics and NHTSA allows for entry into the driving system at age 16. The new driver must retain a learner’s permit for at least six months. During that time, he or she would complete a minimum of 30 to 50 hours of supervised driving before graduating to the intermediate stage. The intermediate stage would include a night driving restriction as well as a passenger restriction (no more than one teenage passenger). A full driver’s license could be obtained no earlier than at 18 years of age. 

GDL laws around the nation have already shown positive effects. Florida decreased their 16- to17-year-old crash rate by 9 percent; Michigan and North Carolina have experienced 25 percent and 26 percent reductions respectively.

Comparing Iowa’s laws to the ideal GDL
Iowa’s GDL laws went into effect in 1999. The minimum age for obtaining a learning permit is 14. The initial stage lasts for six months and requires 20 hours of supervised driving, including two hours nighttime driving. The intermediate stage restricts unsupervised driving between 12:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. There is no passenger restriction during the intermediate stage. There are also no cell phone-use laws at any age. Iowa teens may obtain a full driver’s license on their 17th birthday. 

How Professionals Can Help
In addition to advocating for laws regulating teenage driving, professionals also should encourage teenagers and their parents to examine household rules. Recommendations that may be incorporated into well-child visits include providing permission to obtain a license and take driver’s education classes, helping to create a guided driving experience.  

Parents should set consequences for driving infractions. (In Iowa, young drivers may be forced to revert to a lesser license if they receive a ticket.) Parents should discuss beforehand who is responsible for paying for tickets or vehicular damage. Parents should be encouraged to help teens ensure that they are driving a safe vehicle, including looking at safety statistics when helping teens purchase a first vehicle or determining which family vehicle to allow teens to use. Most important, parents and other adults should recognize that they serve as a role model for their teens. 

Companies such as Allstate and AAA publish parent-teen driving contracts on their websites. These contracts address driving issues such as time of day, number of passengers, cell phones, music, consequences for good and bad grades, speeding tickets, and seatbelt use. Contracts open dialogue between parents and teenagers and encourage parents to take part in the learning experience. Many contracts also encourage parents to look at their own driving habits and consider their status as a role

model. Resources for teen drivers, such as those provided by the CDC, also can inform and empower parents and other adolescent advocates.

Teenagers possess a variety of characteristics that contribute to their risk of car accidents. By understanding what makes teenagers vulnerable, becoming aware of current local, state, and national laws including GDLs, and directing teenagers and their parents to appropriate resources, it’s possible to contribute to keeping teens safe behind the wheel. 

Resources 

Teenage Drivers. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.  

Graduated Driver’s Licenses (GDL): Information on Iowa’s System for Driver’s Under the Age of 18. Iowa Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division..  

Teen Driver Crashes:  A Report to Congress. July 2008.