GDL: Why Don’t Some States Care More about Their Teens?

The statistics are clear - the most restrictive Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) programs are the best, so I don’t understand why the governors of states with lax GDL programs aren’t pushing harder to implement more restrictive programs. Don’t they think their teens are worth it?

And why aren’t the parents of teen drivers in those states screaming at their governors to improve their programs immediately?  GDL is based on a lot of sound research by government and independent safety bodies and it’s saving teen lives.

What is GDL?
Despite the fact that cars have gotten much safer (with the invention of seatbelts, airbags, etc.), teens continued to die in crashes at outrageous numbers. As a result, many studies looked at thousands of crashes involving teen drivers and analyzed the factors that contributed to them. Based on that data, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommended a 3-tiered driver-licensing program

A 3-stage GDL program involves:

• A Learner Stage where all driving must be supervised by a licensed adult driver
• An Intermediate (or “Provisional”) Stage where drivers can drive unsupervised under certain conditions
• A Full License which has all driving rights and privileges

Furthermore, the NHTSA provided 7 key recommendations that the 3-tiered system should be based on. They are:

1. Learner’s Permit has minimum age requirement of 16 years
2. Teen with Learner’s Permit is not eligible to take the road test and move to next level for at least 6 months.
3. Teen with Learner’s Permit must have 30-50 hours of supervised driving practice to be eligible to move to the next level
4. The minimum age for an intermediate license is 16 ½ years
5. During the intermediate stage, no solo driving is allowed between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
6. During the intermediate stage, no more than 1 (teen) passenger is allowed
7. The minimum age for a full license is 17 years.

The purpose of these recommendations is to give teens a chance to gain skills and develop good driving habits before additional difficulties are introduced, and it’s working!

 The Proof!

According to data developed by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, all states with 3-level GDL programs reduced teen crashes significantly but the states with the strictest programs:

• Reduced the rate of fatal crashes for 16 year-old drivers by 38%!
• Reduced the rate of injury crashes for 16 year-old drivers by 40%!

And there’s still room for improvement because none of the states had implemented all 7 of the recommendations!

 How Well Does Your State Measure-up?

Following is the full GDL Model that was developed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, theNational Safety Council, the National Transportation Safety Board, and NHTSA. To find how your state measures up, click this link:   http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/license_laws.html

The Full GDL Model

Stage 1: Learner’s Permit

• State sets minimum age for a learner’s permit at 16 years
• Pass vision and knowledge tests, including rules of the road, signs, and signals
• Completion of basic driver training
• Licensed adult (who is at least 21 years old) required in the vehicle at all times
• All occupants must wear seat belts
• Teenaged-passenger restrictions
• Zero alcohol while driving
• Permit is visually distinctive from other driver licenses
• Must remain crash and conviction free for at least 6 months to advance to next level
• Parental certification of 30 to 50 practice hours
• No use of portable electronic communication and entertainment devices 

Stage 2: Intermediate (Provisional) License

• Completion of Stage 1
• State sets minimum age of 16.5
• Pass a behind the wheel road test
• Completion of advanced driver education training (safe driving, decision-making, risk education, etc.
• All occupants must wear seat belts
• Licensed adult required in the vehicle from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. (e.g., nighttime driving restriction)
• Zero alcohol while driving
• Driver improvement actions are initiated at lower point level than for regular drivers
• Provisional license is visually distinctive from a regular license
• Teenage-passenger restrictions not more than 1 teenaged passenger for the first 12 months of intermediate license.
• Afterward, limit the number of teenaged passengers to 2 until age 18
• Must remain crash and conviction free for at least 12 consecutive months to advance to the next stage
• Supervised practice
• No use of portable electronic communication and entertainment devices

Stage 3: Full License

•  Completion of Stage 2
• State sets minimum age of 18 for lifting passenger and nighttime restrictions
• Zero alcohol while driving

If you’re like me and believe your teen deserves as much protection as possible, you should support strict GDL laws in your state. If the current laws aren’t strict enough, create your own family rules to protect your teens. A Teen-Parent Driving Contract is a very good idea that will be addressed in a future post.

 Once you’ve created rules, you need to enforce them. I’ll give you some tips about how to do that later too.

Seatbelts Save Lives! Are You Sure Your Teen is Wearing One?

The #1 thing that turns a car crash into a fatal crash is that the victims were not wearing seatbelts, and tragically, a lot of those victims are teens.

I've talked to many parents who've lost their sons and daughters in crashes. In too many cases, the teens were thrown from the car and sustained fatal injuries because they weren't wearing their seatbelts. This is particularly tragic because their parents insisted that they ALWAYS WORE their seatbelts. So why did they undo them or leave them undone on that particular day?
Sometimes there were distractions that diverted their attention and they forgot.
Sometimes they were uncomfortable and wanted to relax without the restriction.
Sometimes they didn’t bother because they were only going a short distance.

Sometimes the car was overloaded so there weren't enough belts for all the passengers.
Sometimes it may have been peer pressure because no one else was wearing one either.


Every parent needs to make their teens understand that there are no excuses. They must wear their seatbelts every time they get in the car and make sure everyone else in the car does too.

And if they say that if someone in the car refuses to wear his belt – “that’s his problem” – they’re wrong! It’s the problem of every other passenger in the car too!

In a collision, any unbelted person becomes a pinball that bounces around inside the vehicle. That ‘pinball’ can smash into any other passenger causing brain damage or even death. Really!

Rules for seatbelt use
· Every passenger must wear a seatbelt including lap belt and shoulder harness
· 1 seatbelt per person (no lap-sitting or doubling up)
· If you have more people than seatbelts, make 2 trips or use 2 vehicles
· Never let anyone ride in the trunk or on the floor.
· Seats must be upright. Seatbelts will not protect the wearer when the seat is reclined.

Make it a habit to do a ‘seatbelt check’ every time you get in the car. Have each passenger check that their belt is secure and that the people beside them have buckled up too.

The statistics are scary. One in ten teens will be involved in a crash during their first year driving. Don’t let that crash be a fatal crash. Make sure your teens perform a seatbelt check every time they get in the car.

This video is graphic but it makes the point.

Welcome parents of teen drivers and future teen drivers!

Parents: Did you know that if you’re a non-smoker in reasonable health, your life expectancy is in the mid-90s - but your teenaged son or daughter’s life expectancy is only around 78? THAT'S A DIFFERENCE OF 15 to 17 YEARS!

That's what my friend, the Actuary, told me. The difference is largely because so many teens and young adults die as the result of risky behaviors and poor choices.

Well - I'm the mom of a daughter who is the center of my family - and my life. That news was horrible for me because she was entering that teen-young adult danger zone. Being a professional writer and trainer, I began writing a book for her. It was full of information I felt she needed to know to get her through that disastrous time. I wrote chapters about bullying, eating disorders, drugs, smoking, and all the issues I felt she might face, but when I researched one topic - I stopped dead in my tracks!

Almost 5,000 teens die in car crashes every year! That’s more teen deaths than from sickness, drugs, suicide – or any other cause! I think I’d heard that statistic before but it never really sank in. That means 14 teens die in crashes every day! But that’s not the full story.

Another 300,00 are seriously injured! The injuries include life-altering burns, paralysis, crushed limbs and brain injuries that require years of therapy and change the victim forever. That’s 822 devastating injuries every single day!

And the biggest tragedy is that the overwhelming majority of those crashes could have been avoided. I’ve spent the last 2 years researching topics related to teens and driving and I’ve learned a lot.

Essentially, there are 3 keys to keeping teen drivers safe:
1. Their parents need to be actively involved in coaching, monitoring and preparing them for the road.
2. Teens need good, clear information so they can make wise choices.
3. Teens need lots of structured practice. (A few hours in a parking lot won’t do.)

And the good news is that there are lots of incredible resources available to parents if you know where to look for them. This blog is a way to share what I’ve learned.

Can I guarantee your teen will survive? Unfortunately, not. I sincerely wish I could.
Can I share lots of ideas, to help you talk to, coach, and monitor your rookie teen driver? You bet I can.
That’s what this blog is all about.