Increased Teen Driver Restrictions May Not be Working

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A lot of debate exists about whether teen driving restrictions are successful, and a new nationwide study says graduated driver licensing programs placed on younger teens are merely shifting the dangers to older teens, according to the Los Angeles Times. But then others still support a study published last year in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention that found the rate of fatal crashes to be lower and the accident rate for 18- and 19-year olds to be essentially the same. For more than a decade, many states have enacted laws to restrict their newest teen drivers, such as restricting the hours when they can get behind the wheel and whom they can bring along as passengers, and public officials believed they were saving lives. Now, this new study published in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests otherwise. When the researchers examined data on more than 131,000 fatal crashes involving teen drivers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia between 1986 and 2007, they found that the number of fatal crashes among 16- and 17-year-old drivers has fallen.

Earlier Classes May Cause More Teen Auto Accidents

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A new study suggests that early class times for high school kids may result in more car accidents. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, compared weekday crash rates of 16- to 18-year-olds in two Virginia school districts. Crash rates were 41 percent higher in a district where classes began at 7:20 a.m., more than an hour earlier than the second district where classes began at 8:40 a.m.

Researchers say that later start times would allow teens to get an adequate amount of sleep thereby increasing alertness during their morning commutes. "We believe that high schools should take a close look at having later start times to align with circadian rhythms in teens and to allow for longer sleep times," study author Robert Vorona, MD, said. "Too many teens in this country obtain insufficient sleep.

Tough New Teen Driver Law Proposed

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A Federal bill called the STANDUP Act (Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act) aims to save lives behind the wheel. But it could mean new restrictions for teen drivers in Georgia and across the nation:

Conditional driver’s licenses for all teens under 18. Learner’s permit starting at 16. New limits on teen driving at night. No more than one passenger under age 21 while a teen is at the wheel.