The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) encourages states to implement a graduated driver licensing system. The purpose of such a system is to ease young drivers into the driving environment through more controlled exposure to progressively more difficult driving experiences or driver licensing stages, prior to full licensure.

A significant percentage of young drivers are involved in traffic crashes and are twice as likely as adult drivers to be in fatal crashes. The problems contributing to their high crash rates include immaturity, inexperience and lack of adequate driving skills, driving during nighttime high risk hours, risk-taking, and poor driving judgment and decision making.

To address these problems, NHTSA and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) developed an entry level driver licensing system. It consists of three distinct stages, named by the type of license possessed at each stage: learner’s permit, intermediate (provisional) license, and full license.

Key Facts

• Last year, over 6,000 young people, ages 15 to 20, died in motor vehicle crashes.

• Approximately one-third of all deaths for people 15 to 20 years old are from motor vehicle crashes.

• The crash rate for 16-year-old drivers is 15 times that of 20- to 24-year-olds.

• Young drinking drivers are involved in fatal crashes at twice the rate as drivers aged 21 and older.

• In the last two years, non-alcohol-related fatalities increased by three percent for youth aged 15 to 20.

• States with nighttime driving restrictions or curfews for young novice drivers experience lower crash rates than comparison states.

• More unrestrained youth die in crashes than those wearing safety belts.

How does graduated licensing work? The three stages of a graduated licensing system include specific components and restrictions to introduce driving privileges gradually to beginning drivers. Young drivers are required to demonstrate responsible driving behavior in each stage of licensing before advancing to the next stage.

Each stage has recommended components and restrictions for states to consider when implementing a graduated licensing system.

Example components and restrictions include:

Stage One: Learner’s Permit

• Minimum age recommended by state for a permit (e.g., 15 1 /2 years);

• Pass vision and knowledge tests, including rules of the road and signs and signals;

• Require licensed adult (at least age 21) in the vehicle at all times;

• All occupants must wear safety belts;

• Zero tolerance for alcohol while driving (.02 or less blood alcohol concentration [BAC]);

• Must remain crash and conviction free for six consecutive months to move to the next stage; and

• Permit is visually distinctive from other driver licenses.

Stage Two: Intermediate (Provisional) License

• Complete Stage One;

• Minimum age recommended by state for an intermediate license (e.g., 16 years);

• Must pass a behind-the-wheel, on-road test;

• All occupants must wear safety belts;

• Zero tolerance for alcohol while driving (.02 or less BAC);

• Require licensed adult in the vehicle during late night hours (e.g., nighttime driving restrictions);

• Driver improvement actions are initiated at lower point level than for regular drivers;

• Must remain crash and conviction free for 12 consecutive months to move to next stage; and

• License is visually distinctive from a permit and regular license.

Stage Three: Full License

• Complete Stage Two;

• Minimum age recommended by state for a full license (e.g., 18 years); and

• Must remain crash and conviction free for 12 consecutive months.

Who supports graduated licensing?

The following organizations have publicly supported a graduated licensing system:

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

Allstate Insurance

American Academy of Family Physicians

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA)

American Automobile Association (AAA)

American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA)

American Coalition for Traffic Safety (ACTS)

American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)

The Big 3 Brewers

Brain Injury Association

The Century Council

Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

The Distilled Spirit Council of the United States (DISCUS)

General Federation of Woman’s Clubs

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)

National Association of Governors’ Highway Safety Representatives (NAGHSR)

National Association of Independent Insurers (NAII)

National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health

National Commission Against Drunk Driving (NCADD)

National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances (NCUTLO)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

National Safety Council (NSC)

National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA)

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

Police Executive Research Forum

USAA

How many states have a graduated license system?
Although licensing practices vary from state to state, 13 states have a three-stage licensing system with several of the recommended components of a graduated licensing system: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Four states have two stages of licensing with several components: Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, and Vermont. Ontario and Nova Scotia, Canada; New Zealand; and Victoria, Australia also have graduated driver licensing systems.

Evaluations in three states show the benefits of a graduated licensing system:

• California reported a five percent reduction in crashes for drivers ages 15 to 17.

• Maryland reported a five percent reduction in crashes and a 10 percent reduction in convictions for drivers ages 16 to 17.

• Oregon reported a 16 percent reduction in crashes for male drivers ages 16 to 17.

• An evaluation in New Zealand reported an eight percent reduction in crashes for drivers ages 15 to 19.

States with Graduated Licensing Programs

What products and services are available?

• Consultation on provisions and implementation of graduated licensing systems: from AAMVA and NHTSA.

• Testimony before state legislatures: from AAMVA and NHTSA.

• Video, Young Drivers: The High Risk Years: from IIHS.

• NTSB Report to States, Reducing Youth Highway Crashes, March 1993: from NTSB.

• Graduated licensing resource kit which includes a model law, research studies, and questions and answers about graduated licensing: from NHTSA.

• Report to Congress, Research Agenda for an Improved Novice Driver Education Program, May 1994: from NHTSA.

• Evaluation studies from California, Maryland, Oregon, and New Zealand showing the benefits of graduated licensing: from NHTSA.

• Video and media kits describing graduated licensing: from NAII.

All reports and additional information are available through your State Highway Safety Office, the NHTSA Regional Office serving your state, or from NHTSA Headquarters, Traffic Safety Programs, NTS-32, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590, (202) 366-4800.

Additional Sources of Information

American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA)

4301 Wilson Boulevard

Suite 400

Arlington, VA 22203

Mike Calvin, Director of Driver Services

Phone: (703) 522-4200

Fax: (703) 522-1553

 

Insurance Institute for Highway

Safety (IIHS)

1005 North Glebe Road

Alexandria, VA 22314

Phone: (703) 247-1500

Fax: (703) 247-1678

 

National Association of Independent

Insurers (NAII)

2600 River Road

Des Plaines, IL 60018-2386

Joe Anotti

Phone: (208) 297-7800

Fax: (208) 297-5064

 

National Center for Statistics and Analysis

Research and Development

400 7th Street, SW

Washington, DC 20590

Phone: (202) 366-4198

Fax: (202) 366-7078

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa