New teen drivers are safer on the road, according to proponents
of new law
Gilroy – Ask Madison Haeussler about teen driving habits and an image of her 16-year-old brother behind the wheel quickly pops into her head.
Even before earning a license, with a parent seated in the passenger seat, he displayed some serious poor judgment, she said.
“One time when he just got his (learner’s) permit he stopped in the middle of the freeway,” Madison said.
And now that he’s fully licensed the 14-year-old said her brother ignores teen driving laws, choosing to tote passengers around town and cruising past curfew.
But Madison, a Gilroy High School student, said she wants to be a good driver and that’s why she plans on sticking to the rules laid down by California legislators. Both Madison and her friend, Nicole Hurchalla, 14, stressed that the law was put in place for a reason.
“When we’re in the car with our friends we’re not focusing on driving,” Nicole said.
That positive perspective is good news since teens are a risky group of drivers. And when temperatures begin to soar, the road becomes an even more dangerous playground.
“Essentially it comes down to free time,” said Sean Comey, AAA spokesman.
“If you have an age group of drivers who are at risk already,” add in the lazy days of summer and the danger decimal rises substantially, he said.
The number of teen fatalities increases during the summer due to a variety of factors including fatigue caused by longer hours on the road, speeding and overconfidence set by the dry, clear conditions, according to AAA.
But this summer’s statistics may be less morbid thanks to Assembly Bill 1474, a new piece of legislation that tightens restrictions on teen driving curfews and prohibits the new drivers from chauffeuring passengers 20 years old and younger.
While the restrictions, dubbed Graduated Driver Licensing Programs, have existed in California since 1998, the new law, which went into effect this year, tacks an hour onto the curfew, making 11pm to 5am off-limits to teen drivers and adds another six months onto the no-passenger regulation.
Legislators and organizations, including AAA, pushed for the tougher ordinance after studies noted that California lagged behind other states in teen safety due to its midnight cut-off, Comey said.
And, according to a recent study, the road is safer for teens driving in states with GDL programs. The study, released by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, revealed that in 2004 16-year-old drivers were involved in 957 fatal crashes that killed 1,111 people. But because “GDL allows novice drivers to build experience incrementally before they are exposed to more dangerous driving situations,” fatalities drop in states with tougher teen driving laws.
States with any GDL requirements on the books saw an 11 percent decrease in fatal crash rates involving 16-year-old drivers. And states with the most comprehensive GDL programs, which include restrictions on night time driving, transportation of passengers, waiting periods of at least three months and 30 or more hours of supervised driving, saw about a 20 percent decrease in fatality rate among teen drivers.
Teen drivers are four times more likely to die in a car accident than drivers between the ages of 25 and 65, and two-thirds of teen passengers killed or injured in crashes were riding in vehicles driven by another teen, according to AAA.
Parents may think their children are safe because they’re responsible behind the wheel around them, but the reality is they may behave differently once a friend settles into shotgun, he said.
Violation of the law is a ticketable offense, like any traffic violation, and police officers are allowed to enforce it in a variety of ways, said Gilroy Police Sgt. Kurt Svardal.
“We have people that look underage and we will stop them to verify that they have a driver’s license,” he said.
Once stopped, if the teen drivers are licensed but also happen to be driving past curfew or chauffeuring young friends, they will receive a ticket for disobeying the law. But Svardal surmises that the majority of teens are pulled over for common traffic violations – speeding, running red lights – and then the violations are discovered.
Once a year has passed, the restrictions are lifted. That the law only impacts teens who acquire a license at 16 or 17, may or may not be a good thing since an older driving age doesn’t necessarily translate to a better driver.
That’s because experience is a major component. Insurance companies give credence to those with long driving record.
“It’s a much more complex activity than most of us who’ve been doing this for a while realize, and the risk is greatest while you’re learning,” Comey said.
Heather Bremner covers education for The Dispatch. She can be reached at hb******@gi************.com.
