A teen driving law that actually works!

[Lafalum84]

<p>From today’s Boston Globe:</p>

<p>[Steep</a> drop in teen driver fatalities - The Boston Globe](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/18/steep_drop_in_teen_driver_fatalities/]Steep”>http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/18/steep_drop_in_teen_driver_fatalities/)</p>

<p>

The number of fatal accidents involving drivers under 18 has dropped 75 percent in the three years since Massachusetts made it tougher for teenagers to earn their licenses and implemented much harsher penalties for those junior operators who speed or commit other violations.</p>

<p>The number of speeding tickets issued each year to newly minted teen drivers has also dropped substantially since the tougher laws were enacted, falling by nearly 60 percent, and the number cited for seat-belt violations, passenger restrictions, and other offenses has fallen at a similar rate, according to statistics from the Registry of Motor Vehicles.</p>

<p>And the picture continues to improve: Five out of the last six months ended without a fatal accident involving a driver under 18.

</p>

[rodney]

<p>thanks for posting; </p>

<p>NJ’s governor might want to take some lessons from Mass; little red stickers and making 17yr olds come home by 11 will not work…suspended licenses will…</p>

<p>but they’re too busy here trying to figure out how to tank the public school system to deal with this issue…</p>

[midmo]

<p>

For example, a first-time speeder who once would only have been punished with a fine now also loses his or her license for 90 days. After the suspension, that teen must pay a $500 reinstatement fee, attend a pair of four-hour training classes, and retake the state’s driver exam to regain a license.

</p>

<p>Yes, that does seem like it would be effective.</p>

[Lafalum84]

<p>People claimed the restriction of kids not being able to drive anyone else for the first 6 months after they get their license would never work, but apparently at least some parents are enforcing it. I know the kids speak of the day they will be “legal” - in my day, being <em>legal</em> meant you could drink, but today for kids in MA being <em>legal</em> means they can legally drive their friends. Also, the “no driving between 12:30 am and 5 am” makes it easy for parents to enforce a midnight curfew!</p>

<p>D had several instances where she and a group of friends were going somewhere and none of them had their licenses for 6 months yet. In one case, 6 kids went to a Halloween haunted house in 6 cars! (Hello Global Warming!) I used to think NJ’s law worked better, instead of not being able to drive anyone else (except siblings) for 6 months, NJ lets kids drive a maximum of one other kid for 1 year. I liked that idea because a few times D went somewhere she hadn’t been before, if there were 2 kids in the car one could have been helping to navigate while the driver concentrated on actually driving. But it all worked out, and the statistics certainly seem to indicate that this law is working.</p>

[Gardna]

<p>Virginia has something like the system you mentioned in NJ, Lafalum. I</p>

[Youdon_tsay]

<p>Those fines and suspensions are harsh – I like it!</p>

[3togo]

<p>as a Mass parent I love the start-up driving rules … for my family driving is a luxury for our kids (we live near public transportation) so the rules are great … I’d guess some families depending on the kids to drive might not like the rules as much … but they certainly seem to be working … now if we could get the drunk drivers off the road.</p>

[DougBetsy]

<p>It’s nice to see some good news. </p>

<p>Maryland uses what we call a “graduated license” program for teens. 9 months on Learner’s Permit, then 6 months on a probationary license, then full privleges. </p>

<p>I’m relatively certain that a kid caught with underage/non-family passengers during the probationary phase will lose his license until age 18.</p>

[3togo]

<p>^ … that is basically the Mass program … and while on probation no driving at night and no driving with non-family members … both restrictions that make a lot of sense to me to help teenage drivers get their feet under them.</p>

<p>A graph of traffic accident rates by age is startling … it looks like a cross-section of a bathtub … rookie drives are multiple times more likely to get into accidents than experienced drivers … and the Mass program seems to be helping the rookie drivers get started in a much more safe way. As a state we’re not doing much about the other end of the bathtub curve though … we’re having a ton of trouble trying to pass laws about retesting elderly drivers.</p>