The effectiveness of The Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act (TADRA) passed by the Georgia legislature in 1997, in reducing fatal crashes among 16-year-old drivers was examined using the Fatality Reporting System. Results showed that during the first 5 1/2 years following the enactment of TADRA, the average annual driver crash rate for 16-year-olds declined 36.8 percent. When these data are compared to three bordering states that did not enact similarly restrictive legislation on 16-year-old drivers, the rate in Georgia (following TADRA enactment) was 34 percent lower than in Tennessee, 32 percent lower than in Alabama, and 18 percent lower than in South Carolina, although prior to the enactment of TADRA in Georgia, these states all had similar fatal crash rates among 16 year-old drivers. This finding strongly suggests that TADRA was responsible for the reduction in crash rate observed in Georgia. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting