Many jurisdictions throughout North America are considering graduated licensing, an increasingly popular approach to reducing new drivers’ risk of collisions. Such an approach is needed because of the extremely high crash rates among new drivers, especially young ones. In the United States, for example, 16 year-olds have almost 10 times the crash risk of drivers ages 30-59 and almost 3 times the risk of older teenagers. North American jurisdictions traditionally have allowed quick and easy paths to full-privilege licensure at an early age, which contributes to the high crash rate of young drivers. Graduated licensing offers a more sensible and less risky way for new drivers to begin. It has been found to reduce collisions and injuries in New Zealand and Ontario, Canada, but most North American systems are too new for formal evaluation. Six Canadian provinces and 24 U.S. states have enacted some form of graduated licensing since 1994. To assist other jurisdictions where graduated licensing is being contemplated, this document provides recommendations for the structure and characteristics of such systems. Recommendations are based on scientific research where available and on what graduated systems are intended to accomplish. (Author/publisher)
Abstract