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Oregon teen driving laws save lives, study says
March 21, 2005
Oregon’s five-year-old graduated driver license laws have saved teenagers’ lives and prevented injuries on roadways, according to a federal study released March 14.
Overall, the restrictions and requirements of new drivers younger than 18 years have improved traffic safety since the program began in Oregon in March 2000, according to the Evaluation of Oregon’s Graduated Driver Licensing Program sponsored by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The study cited several safety benefits for all Oregonians:
- Crash rates declined for both male and female drivers age 16 to 17, particularly for 16-year-old drivers in the first six months of holding a license – when Oregon restrictions are strictest.
- Crash rates for young male drivers – typically higher than for young female drivers – generally fell closer to female rates.
- Rates of traffic convictions and license suspensions declined for all teenagers, not only for 16- and 17-year-old drivers but also for 18- and 19-year-old novice drivers.
- Teenagers who took a driver’s education course showed significantly lower rates of traffic convictions, crashes and license suspensions.
In the past decade, Oregon and many other states have introduced graduated driver licensing because the crash and traffic fatality rates for drivers younger than 18 have been highest of any age group.
“The first six months with a driver license is the most dangerous time for a 16-year-old behind the wheel,” said Troy E. Costales, Oregon Department of Transportation Safety Division administrator. “So Oregon’s strategy is to require more learning time with fewer distractions, such as other teenagers in the car.”
During 1998 in Oregon, before graduated driver licensing, there were 1,196 fatal or injury crashes with a 16-year-old behind the wheel of the car, according to ODOT crash data. That figure declined to 898 in 2000, when graduated licensing began to have an impact. It further declined to 810 in 2001, 743 in 2002 and 751 in 2003.
Oregon’s GDL program includes these requirements for new drivers younger than 18:
- A new driver younger than 18 must hold an Oregon instruction permit for at least six months before applying for a provisional driver license.
- An applicant must provide parental verification of at least 50 hours of driving experience, supervised by a licensed driver who is at least 21 years old and has held a driver license for at least three years; and completion of an ODOT-approved driver safety course or completion of an additional 50 hours of supervised driving.
- During the first six months with a license, drivers younger than 18 may not carry any passenger younger than 20 who is not a member of the driver’s immediate family.
- During the second six months, the driver younger than 18 may not carry more than three passengers who are younger than 20 and who are not members of the driver’s immediate family.
- During the first year, a driver may not drive between midnight and 5 a.m. except to and from employment or for job purposes, between home and a school event when no other transportation is available, or with a passenger who is at least 25 years old.
In addition, the Oregon Driver Improvement Program is stricter for drivers younger than 18 than it is for adults:
- If a driver younger than 18 gets two traffic violations, two crashes or one crash and one violation, DMV will restrict the driver’s privileges. For the 90-day restriction, the driver many drive only for employment purposes and may not have any passenger except a parent, stepparent or guardian.
- If a driver younger than 18 gets a third traffic violation or crash, DMV will suspend the driver for six months. The suspension will continue when the driver turns 18, and any additional violations or crashes reported to DMV before the driver turns 18 will invoke another concurrent six-month suspension.
“Parents, law enforcement, driver educators, judges and even teens themselves all voiced support for graduated licensing and said that it improves safety,” Costales said. “Even though teens in the study’s focus groups didn’t like some of the restrictions, they all agreed that it enhanced their safety.”
The study, conducted for NHTSA by the Center for Applied Research Inc., analyzed Oregon crash and traffic conviction data and assembled focus groups that included teens, parents, DMV road test administrators, driving instructors, police, high school administrators and judges who preside over traffic adjudications involving teen drivers. The results were announced March 14 at Lifesavers 2005 in Charlotte, N.C., in a meeting of the National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities.
###ODOT###
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