This report describes best practices for graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs for new drivers in Canada. It is intended to set the standards for the development of new programs in Canada and for enhancing the effectiveness of those already in place. The report contains: a detailed description of current GDL programs in Canada; a comparison of these programs to GDL programs elsewhere; a description of the safety benefits of GDL, including the features that have been shown to contribute to their effectiveness; and, based on these findings, a description of best practices for GDL programs. A central and fundamental issue is whether GDL should apply to all novices or just those who are young. Certainly, both groups are at risk because they are inexperienced; young beginners are at even greater risk owing to the additional influence of age-related factors, such as peer pressure and thrill seeking. Accordingly, jurisdictions in Canada that have already adopted GDL programs have applied it to all beginners – this practice is to be encouraged, especially since evaluations have shown that the collision reductions from these GDL programs extend to novice drivers of all ages. For the same reasons, New Zealand, whose GDL program originally applied only to drivers under the age of 25, has extended its program to all novice drivers, regardless of age. GDL is by definition multi-staged, and research has clearly demonstrated the safety value of this approach over more conventional ones. Accordingly, most GDL programs include a multi-stage system that has, at a minimum, a learner stage and an intermediate stage before graduation to a full licence. The report describes best practices for the structure and content of these two stages. (Author/publisher)
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