Graduated licensing growing in popularity

By: Drivers.com staff
Date: 2000-05-25

Comments (7)    Join conversation

The rules for getting a driver's license vary widely around the world, from minimal requirements to extremely stringent regulations. One trend is readily apparent, though-a move toward a graduated process of acquiring a full driver's license in three stages.

Graduated licensing, as it is known, was pioneered in New Zealand, the U.S. state of Florida, and the Canadian province of Ontario. But the idea has since been adopted by most Canadian provinces, the Australian state of Victoria, and 30 states in the USA.

Essentially, graduated licensing is a system designed to phase in young beginners to full driving privileges as they mature and develop their driving skills. There are three stages in a graduated system and beginners must remain in each of the first two stages for a set minimum time. The three stages consist of a supervised learner's period, an intermediate license period after passing an initial driving test, and, finally, full driving privileges if no infractions were recorded during the intermediate period. Some jurisdictions require drivers to pass a second, more rigorous road test.

Restrictions during the intermediate period vary among jurisdictions. Some, for example, impose a ban on late-night driving and the transportation of teenage passengers-two of the highest risk situations that young drivers may encounter. Needless to say, consumption of alcohol before driving is another no-no.

In the United States, the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances has developed a model graduated licensing law using recommendations from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and other organizations that embody the key elements mentioned above. However, some state laws either meet or exceed these core requirements while others have just some of them.

The U.S.-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has a handy table listing state-by-state minimum requirements such as age and amount of supervised driving. This table is available over the Internet at the institute's web site .

Outside the USA, the laws also vary from one jurisdiction to another. Ontario, for instance, has no ban on youngsters in the intermediate phase from driving at night or carrying teenage passengers.

Does graduated licensing save lives?

The evidence to date suggests it does. In Florida, which instituted a graduated system for drivers under 18, there was a 9 per cent reduction in fatal and injury crash involvement for 15 to 17-year-olds in 1997, the first full year of graduated licensing, compared with 1995.

In Ontario, a report issued in 1998 showed that overall collisions by novice drivers were down by 31 per cent and that the fatality rate for new drivers was down 24 per cent. The province adopted a three-phase graduated licensing system in 1994.

New Zealand was first off the mark in 1987 with a graduated licensing system. Evaluations have identified a continuing 8 per cent reduction in the proportion of drivers aged 15-19 involved in crashes. However, New Zealand still has the third worst record in the OECD for crashes involving drivers in the15 to 24 -year-old group.

In 1999, New Zealand upgraded its driver licensing rules introducing such measures as the need for learner drivers to display 'L' plates similar to those used for years in the U.K. and making the graduated licensing system apply to all new drivers, regardless of age.

The age at which youngsters can legally drive around un-chaperoned has always sparked an emotional tug-of-war among parents, concerned about safety on the one hand and giving their children independence on the other. This is particularly true in rural areas where out-of-school activities or the need to drive farm vehicles places a heavy demand on the adults.

Still, surveys have shown that parents strongly support graduated licensing. In Florida, 95 per cent of parents were found to support a minimum period of supervised driving. Ninety per cent favored night driving restrictions, 60 per cent favored restricting teen passengers during the first few months of driving, and 74 per cent favored a graduated licensing system that includes all of these components.

Login or sign up to receive email notification
when a comment is added to this thread.

NOTE - You can cancel at any time, and we have a strict privacy policy which forbids us from sharing your email address or other information with any third party.