A new study shows that three-stage graduated driver's licensing (GDL) policies save lives and prevents injuries throughout the Midwest. The research published in the Wisconsin Medical Journal (Vol. 108, No. 8) also shows how states could save more teen lives and avoid thousands of teen motor vehicle injuries by modifying their GDL policies to include new, proven components.
A team of researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin's Injury Research Center in Milwaukee and the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin studied GDL policies and five years of vehicle crash data from six states—Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin—and found that more than 300 deaths could have been prevented if each of these states had included evidence-based modifications to their GDL programs. In addition, nearly 21,400 injuries could have been avoided if they had instituted at least five of the seven components identified by researchers from Johns Hopkins sponsored by the American Automobile Association's (AAA) Foundation for Traffic Safety and recommended by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
1.Minimum age of 16 years for obtaining a learner's permit
2.A holding period of at least six months after obtaining a learner permit before applying for intermediate phase
3.At least 30 hours of supervised driving
4.Minimum age of 16.5 years for entering the intermediate phase
5.No unsupervised driving at night after 10 p.m. during the intermediate phase
6.No unsupervised driving during the intermediate phase with more than one passenger younger than 20 years
7.Minimum age of 17 years for full licensure.