Q&A: Teenagers — Graduated driver licensing

May 2012

1 What is graduated driver licensing?

It's a system to phase in young beginners to full driving privileges. It introduces them to driving in a low-risk way, as they become more mature and develop their driving skills. Versions of graduated licensing are in effect in New Zealand; Victoria, Australia; and several Canadian provinces. Beginning with Florida in 1996, graduated licensing also has been adopted in all U.S. states.

There are three stages to a graduated system: supervised learner's period, intermediate license (after passing road test) that limits driving in high-risk situations (e.g., at nighttime, with teen passengers) except under supervision, and a license with full privileges. Although not explicitly part of graduated licensing, minimum permit and license ages are fundamental to all licensing systems. All states impose some of the core elements of graduated licensing, but the strength of the systems varies.

More about the licensing law in your state or any state

2 What are the key components of graduated driver licensing?

The key components are: permit age, practice hours, license age, and night driving and passenger restrictions. The current best practices in the United States are a minimum intermediate license age of 17, a minimum permit age of 16, at least 65 supervised practice driving hours and, during the intermediate stage, a night driving restriction starting at 8 p.m. and a ban on all teen passengers. Some states impose additional restrictions, such as requiring everyone in a vehicle with a teen driver to use safety belts. Some impose penalties so that violations result in license suspension or delay a beginner's advancement to the next licensing stage. A majority of states prohibit beginners from using cellphones while driving, and all but a handful ban young beginners from texting.

Fatal crash risk is higher at night for drivers of all ages, but especially for young drivers. The rate of nighttime fatal crashes for 16-17-year-old drivers is 23 crashes per 100 million miles travelled, compared to a rate of 5.5 crashes per 100 million miles travelled for daytime fatal crashes. Limits on night driving are associated with a 40-60 percent crash reduction during the restricted hours. Shope, J.T. and Molnar, L.J. 2004. Michigan's graduated driver licensing program: evaluation of the first four years. Journal of Safety Research 35:337-44. Foss, R.D.; Feaganes, J.R.; and Rodgman, E.A. 2001. Initial effects of graduated driver licensing on 16-year-old driver crashes in North Carolina. Journal of the American Medical Association 286:1588-92. Mayhew, D.R.; Simpson, H.M.; Desmond, K.; and Williams, A.F. 2003. Specific and long-term effects of Nova Scotia's graduated licensing program. Traffic Injury Prevention 4:91-97. Masten, S.V. and Hagge, R. A. 2004. Evaluation of California's graduated driver licensing program. Journal of Safety Research35:523-35. A national study found much lower fatal crash rates of 15-17 year-olds under laws with strong restrictions. Tefft, B.C.; Williams, A.F.; and Grabowski, J.G. 2013. Teen driver risk in relation to age and number of passengers. Traffic Injury Prevention 14(3):283-92. Those beginning at 8 p.m. cut the rates an estimated 20 percent compared with no restriction. The reduction was 12 percent where driving was restricted after midnight.

Likewise, restrictions on teen passengers are essential because passenger presence is such a big contributor to the teen death toll. Williams, A.F. 2001. Teenage passengers in motor vehicle crashes: a summary of current research. Arlington, VA: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Williams, A.F.; Ferguson, S.A.; and McCartt, A.T. 2007. Passenger effects on teenage driving and opportunities for reducing the risks of such travel. Journal of Safety Research 38:381-90. Fatal crash risk for teen drivers increases incrementally with one, two, or three or more passengers. With three or more, fatal crash risk is about 4 times higher than when a beginner drives alone. Tefft, B.C.; Williams, A.F.; and Grabowski, J.G. 2013. Teen driver risk in relation to age and number of passengers. Traffic Injury Prevention 14(3):283-92. Restrictions make a difference. Masten, S.V. and Hagge, R. A. 2004. Evaluation of California's graduated driver licensing program. Journal of Safety Research35:523-35. McCartt, A.T.; Teoh, E.R.; Fields, M.; Braitman, K.A.; and Hellinga, L.A. 2010. Graduated licensing laws and fatal crashes of teenage drivers: A national study. Traffic Injury Prevention 11:240-48. Trempel, R.E. 2009. Graduated driver licensing laws and insurance collision claim frequencies of teenage drivers. Arlington, VA: Highway Loss Data Institute. Rice, T.M.; Peek-Asa, C.; and Kraus, J.F. 2004. Effects of the California graduated driver licensing program. Journal of Safety Research 35:375-81. Chaudhary, N.K.; Williams, A.F.; and Nissen, W. 2007. Evaluation and compliance of passenger restrictions in a graduated licensing program. Report no. DOT HS-810-781. Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Cooper, D.; Atkins, F.; and Gillen, D. 2005. Measuring the impact of passenger restrictions on new teenage drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention 37:19-23. A national study found a 21 percent reduction in the fatal crash rate of 15-17 year-olds when beginners were prohibited from driving with any teenagers in their vehicles versus allowing two or more. Allowing only one teen passenger reduced the rate 7 percent. McCartt, A.T.; Teoh, E.R.; Fields, M.; Braitman, K.A.; and Hellinga, L.A. 2010. Graduated licensing laws and fatal crashes of teenage drivers: A national study. Traffic Injury Prevention 11:240-48. A study of teens involved in serious crashes found that, compared with driving alone, teen drivers with passengers were more likely to take risks and more likely to be distracted. Curry, A.E.; Mirman, J.H.; Kallan, M.J.; Winston, F.K.; and Durbin, D.R. 2012. Peer passengers: how do they affect teen crashes? Journal of Adolescent Health. In Press.

3 Why focus on young drivers? Why not target beginning drivers of all ages?

Graduated licensing could apply to all first-time drivers. But in the United States young people make up the majority of beginners, and their crash rates are particularly high. Among all drivers 16 and older, 16 year-olds have the highest crash rates at 31 per million miles driven.

Police reported crashes per million miles traveled by driver age, 2008

Two factors in particular work against young drivers. One is their inexperience behind the wheel, and the other is immaturity. Young drivers tend to overestimate their own driving abilities and, at the same time, underestimate the dangers on the road. Young beginners are more likely than older drivers to take risks such as speeding and, because of their inexperience behind the wheel, they're a lot less able to cope with hazardous driving situations.

4 Has graduated licensing reduced crashes?

Yes. Research indicates positive effects on the crash experience of young drivers in the United States as well as in other countries including Canada and New Zealand. US states that have adopted elements of graduated licensing have experienced crash reductions of about 10 to 30 percent. Shope, J.T. and Molnar, L.J. 2004. Michigan's graduated driver licensing program: evaluation of the first four years. Journal of Safety Research 35:337-44. Foss, R.D.; Feaganes, J.R.; and Rodgman, E.A. 2001. Initial effects of graduated driver licensing on 16-year-old driver crashes in North Carolina. Journal of the American Medical Association 286:1588-92. Ulmer, R.G.; Preusser, D.F.; Williams, A.F.; Ferguson, S.A.; and Farmer, C.M. 2000. Effect of Florida's graduated licensing program on the crash rate of teenage drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention 32:527-32. Governor's Highway Safety Office. 2001. Review of Ohio's graduated driver license program. Columbus, OH: Ohio Department of Public Safety. Hallmark, S.L; Veneziano, D.A.; Falb, S.; Pawlovich, M.; and Witt, D. 2008. Evaluation of Iowa's graduated licensing program.Accident Analysis and Prevention 40:1401-05. Rogers, S.C; Bentley, G.C.; Campbell, B.; Borrup, K.; Saleheen, H.; Wang, Z.; and Lapidus, G. 2011. Impact of Connecticut’s graduated driver licensing system on teenage motor vehicle crash rates. The Journal of Trauma Injury, Infection, and Critical Care 71(5):S527-S530.

Two national studies published in 2011 found that fatal crash rates were lower for young teen drivers covered by strong GDL laws. A study of 16-19 year old drivers found that strong GDL laws were associated with a significant reduction in fatal crash rates for 16-year-old drivers only. Masten, S.V.; Foss, R.D.; and Marshall, S.W.. 2011. Graduated driver licensing and fatal crashes involving 16- to 19-year-old drivers. Journal of the American Medical Association 306(10):1098-1103. Another study found that GDL laws were associated with significant decreases in fatal crashes for 16-17 year-old drivers, with strong GDL laws producing the greatest reductions in crash rates. Fell, J.C.; Jones, K.; Romano, E.; and Voas, R. 2011. An evaluation of graduated driver licensing effects on fatal crash involvements of young drivers in the United States. Traffic Injury Prevention 12(5): 423-431.

A national study found that teen licensing laws rated good are associated with a 30 percent lower rate of fatal crashes per population of 15-17 year-olds, compared with licensing laws that are rated poor. McCartt, A.T.; Teoh, E.R.; Fields, M.; Braitman, K.A.; and Hellinga, L.A. 2010. Graduated licensing laws and fatal crashes of teenage drivers: A national study. Traffic Injury Prevention 11:240-48. A similar study found that good-rated laws reduce the insurance collision claim rates of 16-year-olds by 20 percent. Trempel, R.E. 2009. Graduated driver licensing laws and insurance collision claim frequencies of teenage drivers. Arlington, VA: Highway Loss Data Institute. These findings are consistent with the results of earlier national evaluations, which found that states with 3-stage graduated systems had fewer fatal crashes per population of 16 year-olds, compared with states without such systems. Chen, L-H.; Baker, S.P.; and Li, G. 2006. Graduated driver licensing programs and fatal crashes of 16-year-old drivers: a national evaluation. Pediatrics 118:56-62. Baker, S.; Chen, L.; and Li, G. 2007. Nationwide review of graduated licensing. AAA foundation for Traffic Safety, Washington, D.C.

There is mixed evidence on the effects of graduated licensing laws on older teens. One national study found that fatal crash rates for 18 year-olds increased with stronger graduated licensing laws and that the overall reduction in fatal crash rates for 16-19 year-olds combined was not significant. Masten, S.V.; Foss, R.D.; and Marshall, S.W.. 2011. Graduated driver licensing and fatal crashes involving 16- to 19-year-old drivers. Journal of the American Medical Association 306(10):1098-1103. However, the Institute’s national study found that stronger laws were associated with a significant reduction in fatal crash rates for 15-19 year-olds combined, with weaker associations for 18- and 19-year olds than for younger teenagers. McCartt, A.T.; Teoh, E.R.; Fields, M.; Braitman, K.A.; and Hellinga, L.A. 2010. Graduated licensing laws and fatal crashes of teenage drivers: A national study. Traffic Injury Prevention 11:240-48. The HLDI findings showed a similar pattern, with stronger GDL laws associated with fewer insurance collision claims among 16-19 year-olds combined. As age increased, the effects of GDL laws on collision claims decreased. The reasons for any positive or negative effects of graduated licensing programs on older teenagers are unknown.

In New Jersey, which applies graduated licensing restrictions to all initial licenses younger than age 21 and where an intermediate license is not available until age 17, significant reductions in the crash rates for 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds were found without adversely affecting the crash rates for 19 year-olds. Williams, A.F.; Chaudhary, N.K.; Tefft, B.C.; and Tison, J. 2010. Evaluation of New Jersey's graduated driver licensing program.Traffic Injury Prevention 11:1-7.

5 How do state laws stack up against the toughest provisions?

An online calculator developed by the Institute and HLDI shows that many states have lots of room to improve their young driver laws. No state currently has all of the toughest provisions of graduated licensing. The calculator, which launched May 2012, is intended to show individual states how to reduce rates of fatal crashes and collision claims among teenage drivers by adopting some or all of the most beneficial GDL provisions in effect today.

The Institute used to publish ratings of young driver laws to recognize states with the best laws. Begun in 2000, the ratings initially encouraged states to adopt three-phase graduated licensing laws, but they didn’t show legislators how any state – even ones with already-strong laws – could boost the benefits of graduated licensing by targeting specific components for improvement. In the intervening years, the Institute has extensively studied state laws and teen crashes and now knows what makes some graduated licensing systems more effective than others. McCartt, A.T.; Teoh, E.R.; Fields, M.; Braitman, K.A.; and Hellinga, L.A. 2010. Graduated licensing laws and fatal crashes of teenage drivers: A national study. Traffic Injury Prevention 11:240-48. Trempel, R.E. 2009. Graduated driver licensing laws and insurance collision claim frequencies of teenage drivers. Arlington, VA: Highway Loss Data Institute. Based on these results, researchers are able to estimate the effects of changing individual provisions of graduated licensing and can share this information with states via the online calculator.

6 Do parents support graduated licensing?

Yes. Based on a national survey conducted in 2010, parents of teens favor licensing policies as strong or stronger than in US states now. Williams, A.F; Braitman, K.A.; and McCartt, A.T. 2010. Views of parents of teenagers about licensing policies: a national survey. Arlington, VA: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Two-thirds of the parents prefer starting learners at 16 or older. More than half support intermediate licensing at 17 or older. A large majority favor night driving restrictions beginning by 10 pm or earlier and restrictions on teenage passengers to 1 at most. Nearly half said these restrictions should last at least until age 18. There's also support for long learner periods with a lot of practice driving and enhanced penalties for violating licensing restrictions. These responses mirror previous surveys. Ferguson, S.A.; Williams, A.F.; Leaf, W.A.; Preusser, D.F.; and Farmer, C.M. 2001. Views of parents of teenagers about graduated licensing after experience with the laws. Journal of Crash Prevention and Injury Control 2:221-27. Williams, A.F.; Ferguson, S.A.; Leaf, W.A.; and Preusser, D.F. 1998. Views of parents of teenagers about graduated licensing systems. Journal of Safety Research 29:1-7. Williams, A.F.; Nelson, L.A.; and Leaf, W.A. 2002. Responses of teenagers and their parents to California's graduated licensing system. Accident Analysis and Prevention 34:835-42 Williams, A.F. and Chaudhary, N.K. 2008. Views of Connecticut parents of teens and other adults about graduated licensing upgrades. Traffic Injury Prevention 9:503-07.

7 Are teenagers subject to graduated licensing allowed to drive to school, work and extracurricular activities?

Yes, all states allow exceptions so that teenagers may drive for specified purposes during restricted hours. An important factor in the crashes that occur at night is the combination of more difficult driving conditions and distractions caused by teen passengers. Young people going to work are unlikely to have teen passengers.

Graduated licensing delays full licensure, but studies indicate it doesn't hinder social life very much. Sixteen year-olds have largely similar patterns of social life and work whether they live in states where many, some or few 16 year-olds are licensed. Preusser, D.F.; Leaf, W.A.; Ferguson, S.A.; and Williams, A.F. 2000. Variations in teenage activities with and without a driver's license. Journal of Public Health Policy 21:224-39.

8 Do adequate practice driving and strong restrictions following licensure offset the importance of licensing at older ages?

No. Even after controlling for the effects of other components of graduated licensing, teenagers in states with older licensing ages have lower fatal crash rates and fewer insurance collision claims. Delaying licensure from 16 to 17, for example, lowers the fatal crash rate among 15-17 year-olds by 13 percent McCartt, A.T.; Teoh, E.R.; Fields, M.; Braitman, K.A.; and Hellinga, L.A. 2010. Graduated licensing laws and fatal crashes of teenage drivers: A national study. Traffic Injury Prevention 11:240-48. and reduces collision claim rates 9 percent among 16-year-old licensed drivers. Trempel, R.E. 2009. Graduated driver licensing laws and insurance collision claim frequencies of teenage drivers. Arlington, VA: Highway Loss Data Institute. The fatal crash rate for teenagers also is lower in states where laws delay the minimum age at which teenagers can get learner's permits. McCartt, A.T.; Teoh, E.R.; Fields, M.; Braitman, K.A.; and Hellinga, L.A. 2010. Graduated licensing laws and fatal crashes of teenage drivers: A national study. Traffic Injury Prevention 11:240-48.

A study in New Zealand found a greater increase in crash rates per licensed driver when transitioning from a learner's permit to a restricted license among drivers ages 15½ to 16½ than among drivers who transitioned at older ages. Lewis-Evans, B. 2010. Crash involvement during the different phases of the New Zealand Graduated Driver Licensing System (GDLS). Journal of Safety Research 41:359-365.

New Jersey is the only U.S. state that licenses at 17. This policy eliminates most crashes involving drivers who are 16, but a concern is whether the benefit is offset by higher crash rates among 17 year-olds. Studies confirm that the combined crash rate of 16 and 17 year-olds in New Jersey is far lower than in neighboring states with younger licensing ages. Ferguson, S.A.; Williams, A.F.; and Preusser, D.F. 1996. Differences in young driver crash involvement in states with varying licensure practices. Accident Analysis and Prevention 28:171-80. Williams, A.F.; Karpf, R.S.; and Zador, P.L. 1983. Variations in minimum licensing age and fatal motor vehicle crashes. American Journal of Public Health 73:1401-03. New Jersey's graduated licensing system also reduces crashes among 18 year-olds, a group that's largely unaffected by the graduated systems in effect in other states. Williams, A.F.; Chaudhary, N.K.; Tefft, B.C.; and Tison, J. 2010. Evaluation of New Jersey's graduated driver licensing program.Traffic Injury Prevention 11:1-7.

9 Can driver education reduce the need for graduated licensing?

No. A good education course emphasizing on-the-road driving can teach basic vehicle control skills. But if driver education is offered or required, it needs to be in the framework of an effective graduated licensing system to reduce crashes. Driver education hasn't been shown to reduce subsequent crash rates among beginning drivers.

Many states require teens to take driver education. Some states fast-track teens who take driver education through the graduated licensing system by, for example, allowing them to obtain a learner permit or intermediate license sooner or to graduate sooner from nighttime and passenger restrictions. Completion of driver education shouldn't reduce the time a beginner is restricted nor eliminate other requirements under a state's graduated licensing system. New Zealand teenagers who obtained a full license early by completing an education course had higher crash rates than teens who did not graduate early. Lewis-Evans, B. 2010. Crash involvement during the different phases of the New Zealand Graduated Driver Licensing System (GDLS). Journal of Safety Research 41:359-365.