Graduated Driving Licensing Designed to Save Lives | DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog

According to a recent study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Graduated Driver Licensing Reduces Fatal Crashes by 11 Percent.   For the most comprehensive programs, researchers found a near 20 percent reduction in fatal crashes involving 16-year olds.  Data for the study was collected by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and U.S. Census Bureau statistics,  indicating automobile crashes as the leading cause of death among teens.

Each state that has a graduated licensing program generally includes at least some of the following common components:

• Minimum age of 15 1/2 years for learner permit;
• Waiting period after obtaining learner permit of at least 3 months before applying for intermediate license;
• Minimum of 30 hours of supervised driving;
• Minimum age of 16 years for obtaining intermediate state license;
• Minimum age of at least 17 years for full licensing;
• Nighttime driving restriction;
• Restriction on carrying passengers.

“Graduated Driver Licensing Programs and Fatal Crashes of 16-year-old dDivers: A National Evaluation”  was published in the July edition of  Pediatrics.