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Graduated Licensing Law

Graduated driver licensing (GDL) is a system designed to delay full licensure, allowing beginners to obtain their initial experience under lower risk conditions. It allows young drivers to improve their skills and driving habits, and restricts nighttime driving, when most teen driver accidents occur.

Almost every state has at least some form of restrictions on young drivers. According to AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety as of February 2007, 43 states and the District of Columbia have three-stage graduated licensing law programs, but the systems vary in strength.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) licensing laws for young drivers by state can be found at: http://www.iihs.org/laws/state_laws/grad_license.html

Graduated licensing stages

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines the three graduated licensing stages as:

• Stage 1: Learner’s permit. This stage requires teen drivers to pass vision and knowledge tests; drive with a licensed adult age 21 or older and requires that all occupants wear seat belts. Other requirements include a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level set at zero or near-zero tolerance, that the young driver remain traffic-offense and alcohol-offense free in order to move to the next stage and that the permit’s appearance is distinctive from other drivers licenses. In an optimal system, the minimum age for a learner’s permit is 16 and requires holding a permit for at least six months.

• Stage 2: Intermediate or probationary license. Drivers complete Stage 1 and pass a road test. It requires that all occupants wear seat belts, that state laws address a BAC level at zero or near-zero tolerance, that a licensed adult be required to accompany the teen driver during late night hours, and that the driver remain traffic-offense and alcohol-offense free for 12 months in order to obtain a full license. Optimal Stage 2 provisions include nighttime driving restrictions starting at 9 or 10 p.m., teenage passenger restrictions and full licensure not before age 18.

• Stage 3: Full-privilege license. Available at age 18, upon completion of the probationary licensing stage.

Components of a GDL system

The AAA Foundation outlines the seven basic GDL components as:

• A minimum age of at least 16 years for receiving a learner’s permit.
• A requirement to hold the learner’s permit for at least 6 months before receiving a license that allows any unsupervised driving.
• A requirement for certification of at least 30 hours of supervised driving practice during the learner stage
• An intermediate stage of licensing with a minimum entry age of at least 16 years and 6 months.
• A nighttime driving restriction for intermediate license holders, beginning no later than 10 p.m.
• A passenger restriction for intermediate license holders, allowing no more than one passenger (except family members).
• A minimum age of 17 years for full, unrestricted licensure.

The Foundation reports that only Delaware has all seven components (as of February 2007) and Kentucky, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia have six. Ohio recently enacted legislation to strengthen its graduated licensing laws.

Ohio GDL laws

Original legislation:

• Am. Sub. SB 35, Ohio’s graduated licensing law bill, was signed into law on December 1, 1997.
• The state’s full graduated licensing law went into effect January 1, 1999.

2007 legislation:

• Additional restrictions on probationary and temporary license holders became law with the passage of HB 343. It was signed into law January 4, 2007, taking effect on April 6.
  
  These restrictions include:

• Probationary driver license holders under the age of 17 will not be permitted to operate a motor vehicle with more than one person who is not a family member in the vehicle, unless accompanied by the license holder’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian. Studies conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have shown that one passenger doubles the risk of a crash among teen drivers, two passengers triple the risk, and three or more passengers increase the risk by more than six.

• Probationary driver license holders 17-18 years of age will be restricted from driving between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. unless the holder is accompanied by a parent or guardian, with the following exceptions: an emergency situation, driving to or from a school activity, or driving to or from work. Travel to or from work is permitted provided the teen has written documentation from the employer.

• Probationary license holders under the age of 17 are prohibited from driving between midnight and 6 a.m. unless accompanied by a parent or guardian with the same exceptions as above. This is a change to the previous restriction of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

• Temporary permit holders under the age of 18 will be prohibited from driving between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m., unless accompanied by a parent, guardian or legal custodian who holds a valid license. This is a change to the previous restriction of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m.

• If a probationary driver license holder under the age of 17 is convicted of having committed one moving violation during the first six months of having a driver license, the person must be accompanied by a parent or guardian whenever operating a motor vehicle during the six-month period commencing on the date on which the person is convicted of or pleads guilty to the moving violation or until the person attains the age of 17.

A Q & A regarding HB 343 can be found at: http://www.bmv.ohio.gov/driver_license/new_gdl_info.htm. This includes bill highlights, work documentation form links and definitions.

Results from Ohio’s graduated licensing law

Graduated licensing systems are not a panacea, but they can reduce the motor vehicle injuries among young drivers. In states that have elements of graduated licensing, the benefits are evident.

A report released by the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) in January 2001 found that teens are safer behind the wheel due to Ohio’s Graduated Driver License (GDL) law. Since the law’s enactment, it’s estimated that 30 lives have been saved. Teen drivers license suspension rates increased 261%.

Other findings include:

• In comparing crash data of those licensed under GDL with those who weren’t, overall crash rates decreased by 23%. Young driver “at-fault” crashes decreased by 1%.

• Males saw a much larger decrease in crashes than females.

• Crashes involving young drivers and alcohol use have decreased.

• Overall traffic conviction rate of young drivers decreased by 15%.

View the study online at www.publicsafety.ohio.gov/news/gdlreport.pdf.

IIHS study

An IIHS study released in February 2005 found crash rates for 16-year-olds fell 26% between 1993–2003. The fatal crash rate for these drivers declined sharply after states began enacting graduated licensing laws in the 1990s. The overall number of 16-year-old drivers in fatal crashes decreased from 1,084 in 1993 to 938 in 2003, while there was an 18% increase in the 16-year-old population.

Although not a study of graduated licensing per se, it looked at the status of 16 year-olds in states both with and without graduated licensing.

While the population-based ratio of fatal crash involvements declined, the 2003 rate based on the number of licensed drivers didn't change compared with the 1993 rate. Seventy-three 16-year-old drivers per 100,000 license holders were in fatal crashes in 1993. This compares with 74 per 100,000 in 2003. See Table 1 for licensing and fatal crash rates of 16-year-olds 1993–2003.

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

An important finding of the IIHS study is that restrictions on 16-year-olds did not simply shift the crash risk to older teens. Crash rates dropped 11% for 17 year-olds and 6% for 18-19 year-olds. One of the most dangerous scenarios is when a teenage driver transports other teens and, on a per capita basis, this kind of crash declined 39% during 1993-2003.

Table 2 provides an estimate of crash reductions in selected jurisdictions with graduated licensing, including Ohio.

¹ The percentage reductions shown for California are based on three studies, two of which found crash reductions of 17 and 28%.

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Information on the IIHS study is available online at www.iihs.org/news/2005/iihs_news_022405.pdf

Other teen driver findings

A 2006 IIHS evaluation of California’s graduated licensing law found a 23% overall reduction in the per-capita crash involvement rate of 16-year-old drivers. Crashes went down even more in the high-risk situations—nighttime crash rates decreased 27%, and crash rates with teen passengers decreased 38%. (For more information on this study go to: http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr083106.html)

IIHS reports that 5,288 teenagers ages 13-19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2005. This is 40% fewer than in 1975, and 6% fewer than in 2004. About 2 out of every 3 teenagers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2005 were males.

Half of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths in 2005 occurred between 3 pm and midnight, according to IIHS. Studies of night driving curfews indicate that crash reductions of 60% or more can be achieved during restricted driving hours. Ohio’s original GDL legislation included nighttime driving restrictions. Additional restrictions were included in the legislation effective April 2007.

Low BAC thresholds for young drivers also reduce the problem. An underage driver in Ohio who has a BAC level of .02% or more faces penalties under a charge called Operating a Motor Vehicle After Underage Alcohol Consumption.

Another study published in the March 22, 2000 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association confirms what many have long suspected regarding teen passengers. The study found that 16-year-old drivers carrying one passenger were 39% more likely to die than those driving alone. That increased to 86% with two passengers and a whopping 182% with three or more. Driver distraction is the main reason for the rise in risk. The rate for 17-year-olds was even higher: 4%, 158% and 207% respectively.

Ohio’s graduated licensing law limits the number of passengers to the number of installed safety belts.

NOTE: Access additional Ohio graduated licensing information online at www.drivertraining.ohio.gov.

On July 1, 2007 a new law took effect in Virginia that prohibits drivers younger than 18 from using cell phones for talking, texting or photographing. Similar bans are in effect in 12 other states and the District of Columbia. The Virginia law makes cell phone use a secondary offense. Offenders could be fined as much as $250, and a second offense could result in a driver’s license being suspended for six months. Research from the Ford Motor Co. concluded that teens are four times more distracted by cell phones than adults. (The Roanoke (VA.) Times, June 29, 2007)