A survey of high school seniors was conducted in four contiguous northeastern states with substantially different laws regulating the ages at which teenagers can learn to drive and obtain a license. The age at which these students first drove on a public road tended to be younger (often much younger than the legal minimum age for practice driving) when state law allowed practice driving and licensing at younger ages. It was also younger for males, for teenagers with poorer school grades, and for those whose parents had less formal education. The age at which these students obtained a learners permit and became licensed tended to be younger in states that allowed practice driving and licensing at younger ages, for teenagers in suburban or rural, as opposed to urban communities, for those with better school grades, and for those whose parents had more formal education. Graduated licensing systems, which allow young drivers to be exposed gradually to increasingly complex driving environments, are one method for limiting teenage motor vehicle crash exposure. State laws and regulations that delay the age at which practice driving is permitted, provide learners permits that are valid for long periods of time, and establish a higher minimum licensing age can be used to limit teenage motor vehicle crashes. (A)
Samenvatting