Study: Graduated Licensing Programs Reduce Fatal Teen Crashes

Programs that grant privileges to new drivers in phases — known as graduated licensing programs — dramatically reduce the rate of teen driver fatal crashes, according to three studies funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Such graduated licensing laws were adopted by all 50 states and the District of Columbia between 1996 and 2011. The NIH-supported research effort shows that such programs reduced the rate of fatal crashes among 16- 17-year-olds by 8 to 14 percent.

Reductions in fatal crashes were greatest in states that had enacted other restrictions on young drivers. The greatest reductions in young driver crashes were seen in states that had adopted graduated driver licensing laws in combination with mandatory seat belt laws or laws requiring a loss of the driver’s license as a penalty for possession or use of alcohol by youth aged 20 or younger.

In addition, limiting driving at night or with teenaged passengers, in combination with graduated licensing laws, had greater reductions in overall crash rates involving teen drivers than graduated licensing laws alone.

Graduated licensing programs generally require new drivers to complete three phases before they receive their license. The first stage involves issuing a learner’s permit, in which the new driver must practice driving with a licensed driver aged 21 or older.

The second stage allows driving, but only under certain conditions — for example, not late at night, and without teen passengers in the car. After completing these phases, the driver receives a full license — in some states, after reaching age 18.

One of the studies, an analysis of 15- to 17-year-old drivers killed in crashes between 1999 and 2008, concluded that the effect of these laws did not appear to be uniform across racial and ethnic groups. The laws did not appear to reduce fatalities among Hispanic teen drivers, although they did have an effect among white, African-American and Asian teenagers.

"Everyone hoped that that graduated driver licensing would help to protect new drivers, but it was necessary to evaluate whether the new laws did indeed have their desired effects." said Rebecca L. Clark, Ph.D., chief of the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences branch of the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), which funded the studies. "These studies not only confirm the effectiveness of graduated licensing approach, they also identify additional protective factors."