Much is being made about the effectiveness of "Graduated Licensing." Many state and local legislators, and other industry representatives have endorsed the program as the solution to reducing teenage crashes, injuries and deaths. The truth is that most of the statistics used to justify their praise and support has been misinterpreted.

Partners For Highway Safety supports and endorses the concept of Graduated Licensing, but it is vital to understand this is not the answer to this major problem in our communities. The Graduated Licensing laws vary from state-to-state but they all place restrictions on new young drivers. Some have raised the driving age, they may require a longer period to hold a learner's permit, they restrict driving hours and some of the better laws restrict the number of passengers allowed in the car. These are all a good start but unfortunately they all have been watered down and have not been aggressively enforced. Intended to produce safer teenage drivers they have not reached there desired goal. Most of the statistics quoted to show the positive effect of these laws are from 1993 to 2003 and it is true that 16-year-old traffic deaths dropped by 13% during that period. What is not being shared or considered is that during that same period the number of 16-year-olds licensed to drive also dropped, but by 26%. If the licensing rate had stayed the same the number of teenage traffic fatalities would have skyrocketed. Based on a percentage of 16-year-old licensed drivers the fatality rate has actually increased from 73 fatalities per 100,000 licensed drivers in 1993 to 74 fatalities per 100,000 in 2003.

Teenage drivers continue to be over represented and make up a disproportionate amount of traffic deaths. Graduated licensing is a vital part of the solution. What is missing, is required training.

“Graduated Licensing” maybe a partial solution to the problem, but simply raising the driving age to 17 is shifting the problem, not solving it. Seventeen year old drivers do have a slightly lower crash rate but that is because they have one more year of driving experience. The actual difference is so slight it is statistically insignificant.  Driving is a learned skill. Raising the driving age is simply going to push the problem into another age bracket and does nothing to address the leading cause of teen-driver crashes… inexperience.

Sixteen year old drivers are simply elated with their new freedom and they are testing the boundaries of their abilities. Teenagers are adventurous, risk takers who also view themselves as invincible. Teens make mistakes behind-the-wheel due to inexperience and lack of training; mistakes that should not cost them their lives. As a nation, we need to prepare for record setting years of teen deaths on our highways. During the next 5 to 7 years children of the baby boomers are coming of age. Every year, new inexperienced drivers will be exceeding the previous year by as much as 10% and the carnage on our highway will grow as well.

When you look closely at crashes involving new drivers of all ages, they all have one thing in common… inexperience. Teens lack the driving experience required to prepare them for the emergencies and actions of other drivers they encounter daily. Insurance industry experts will tell you it takes an average of 5 years for drivers to gain adequate driving experience. The key to bridging that learning gap is training; this enables our teens to survive long enough to gain the 5 years of experience. Professionals in law enforcement, emergency rescue and soldiers all receive extensive training in order to react to and properly deal with the unexpected.

Teens lack the training that prepares them to anticipate and react to hazards they encounter daily. Fortunately for most, the situation is forgiving and the young driver learns a valuable lesson. Too often, it is not and the situation turns into unimaginable devastation and human suffering for the families and friends. Proper training reduces teenage crashes, injuries and deaths. Driving is a learned skill and skills cannot be learned from a textbook.

Teens have no concept of speed, rate of travel or the forces created as speed increases. The physics and the dynamics of operating a vehicle have never been considered. Teenagers do not see a vehicle as a lethal weapon, something that kills quickly and without remorse.  Training and developing skills learned are vital to survival on the highway but just as important is the attitude of the teen driver. While the training and the skills gained prepare the teen to react to a situation, the way those skills are applied may prevent them from getting into the situation.

Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death and injury to our children. It is also the leading preventable cause. As a society we must be more proactive, not reactive in our approach. Requiring appropriate training and enhancing the standards teens must meet for the privilege of driving, will save young lives. If this were a disease, it would be called an epidemic and recognized for the predator that it is. Teen traffic deaths are preventable, but not simply through legislation.