Deaths in Teenage Drivers’ Cars Drop
Tough rules imposed three years ago on new teenage drivers in California have sharply reduced the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities among the young motorists and their passengers, according to a study released Friday by the Automobile Club of Southern California.
During the first two years the restrictions were in place, the number of teenage passengers killed or injured in crashes involving 16-year-old motorists dropped 40%, the study found.
The Auto Club review shows that the 1998 graduated driver’s license law has improved safety even more dramatically in Los Angeles County, where the number of teenage passengers killed or injured in accidents involving 16-year-old drivers declined 47% between 1998 and 2000. The law focused on preventing novice teenage motorists from driving with one another without adult supervision.
“These findings show quite conclusively that [the law] had its intended effect on reducing teen crashes,” said Steve Bloch, the Auto Club’s senior researcher.
Auto Club officials say the law’s effectiveness is clear because they can compare the statistics to a group of drivers who are not subjected to new restrictions--19-year-olds. Those drivers were involved in accidents that produced 20% more deaths and injuries from 1998 to 2000, the Auto Club said.
Under the law, new drivers under the age of 18 must hold their learner’s permit for at least six months before getting a provisional license. During that time, they must spend at least 50 hours behind the wheel practicing with a parent or guardian.
Also, for the first year, teenagers with provisional licenses cannot drive between midnight and 5 a.m. unless a licensed driver 25 years or older is riding along.
Once they earn a provisional license, teenagers are prohibited from carrying passengers under the age of 20 for the first six months unless a licensed driver, 25 years or older is on board. The law, which was supported by the Auto Club, was prompted by high death and injury rates among teenage drivers.
Drivers ages 15 to 20 make up 6.7% of the nation’s driving population, but account for about 14% of all traffic fatalities.
Bloch and several driving instructors said the restrictions have saved lives by allowing inexperienced teenagers to gain driving privileges in phases.
“We are pleased to see the death and injury rates drop,” said Jerry Gaines, a former driving instructor at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, who helped draft the law after one of his students died in a car accident.
Pat Follis, the operations manager for the Teen Driving Academy in Orange County, said the law takes the right approach with young drivers.
“We know from experience that the more practice they have before they get their license and the more restrictions, those things all make a positive difference in the teen death rate,” Follis said. “What they are doing is pretty much discouraging teens from cruising for the first six months. That’s been a real positive thing.”
He said the law is effective because it limits risky late-night driving and restricts teenagers from giving one another rides--often a major distraction, Bloch said.
In 1998, before the law took effect, 2,242 teenage passengers were killed or injured in accidents involving 16-year-old drivers. That number dropped to 1,348 in 2000, according to the Auto Club.
In Los Angeles County, that same number dropped from 404 deaths and injuries in 1998 to 214 last year, the Auto Club study said.
In the first two years that the law took effect, the number of crashes in which 16-year-olds were behind the wheel declined 24%, according to the study.
“After two full years, teens appear more aware and are following the law’s requirements to a greater degree,” said Bloch.
Teenagers, however, give the law mixed reviews.
Freddy Miranda, a 16-year-old student at Belmont High School near downtown Los Angeles, called the license restrictions lame.
Miranda and three friends who were walking to class Friday said they can’t get their parents to set aside 50 hours to teach them to drive, especially when both parents work full time.
“And you are not going to get your parents to drive you to a party,” Miranda said.
Still, Miranda’s friends, Luis Hernandez, 15, Ryan Marroquin, 16, and Tulio Palma, 17, said they understand the need for the restrictions.
Hernandez said many teenagers drive aggressively because they feel invincible.
“When you are young, you don’t care about anything,” he said.
California was among the first states to pass the graduated driver’s license law. Some version of the law has been adopted in 46 states and the District of Columbia. The Auto Club is campaigning for similar laws in all 50 states.
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Times staff writer Ana Cholo contributed to this report.
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Improved Driving Record
Deaths and injuries of teenage passengers in accidents involving 16-year-old motorists dropped in California in the first two years under the state’s Graduated Driver License law.
Source: Automobile Club of Southern California
