Announcement: National Teen Driver Safety Week — October 18–24, 2015

During 2004–2013, the number of teens aged 13–19 years who died in motor vehicle crashes declined by 55% from 5,645 to 2,524 (1). During the same period, the rate of passenger vehicle drivers aged 16–19 years involved in fatal crashes decreased 56%, from 34.7 to 15.1 per 100,000 persons (1). Despite these encouraging trends, motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for teens.

Graduated driver licensing (GDL) is widely credited with contributing to declines in teen crash fatalities. Evaluations of GDL have demonstrated a 20–40% reduction in crash risk for the youngest drivers (2). GDL provides longer practice periods, limits driving under high risk conditions for newly licensed drivers, and requires greater participation of parents in their teens' learning-to-drive process.

Research indicates that more comprehensive GDL systems prevent more fatal crashes compared with less comprehensive GDL systems (3–5). These systems include provisions, such as: a minimum age of 16 years for learners' permits; a mandatory holding period of at least 12 months for learners' permits; nighttime driving restrictions between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. (or longer) for intermediate or provisional license holders; a limit of zero or one young passengers that can ride with intermediate or provisional license holders without adult supervision; and a minimum age of 18 years for full licensure.

Additional information on National Teen Driver Safety Week available at http://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/teens.

Additional information on safe teen driving available at http://www.cdc.gov/MotorVehicleSafety/Teen_Drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html and http://www.cdc.gov/parentsarethekey/index.html.

References

1. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Fatality facts 2013: teenagers. Arlington, VA: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety; 2013. Available at http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/teenagers/fatalityfacts/teenagers.
2. Shope JT. Graduated driver licensing: review of evaluation results since 2002. J Safety Res 2007;38:165–75.
3. Williams AF, Tefft BC, Grabowski JG. Graduated driver licensing research, 2010-present. J Safety Res 2012;43:195–203.
4. Mayhew D, Williams A, Pashley C. A new GDL framework: evidence base to integrate novice driver strategies. Ottawa, Canada: Traffic Injury Research Foundation; 2014.
5. CDC. Prevention Status Reports: Graduated Driver Licensing System 2013. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2013. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/psr/motorvehicle/index.html#graduated.