Report Calls for Restrictions on Teen Driving Licenses

Teenage drivers account for many accidents on the highways of Virginia (VA) and further afield.

Now a new study is suggesting nationwide restrictions on teenage driver’s licenses could save as many as 2,000 lives a year, msnbc.com reports.

In a report released in December 2011, the National Safety Council, an independent research agency, asked what would happen if a raft of laws known as “graduated driver licensing,” were taken on board in all 50 states.

The report said this approach could save 2,000 lives, if adopted nationally, and save more than $13 billion a year.

See this video about the deaths of teenage drivers.

Graduated driving license laws can stipulate drivers can’t obtain licenses until they are 18, but they go further. They include bans on texting and other cell phone use restrictions on driving at night by 16- and 17-year-olds and limits on the number of passengers who can be carried in a car driven by a teen.

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association highlighted some of the benefits of a graduated driving program, pointing out the youngest teen drivers commit the most mistakes behind the wheel.

Virginia (VA) drivers can obtain a learner’s permit at the age of 15 years and 6 months. It allows teens to operate motor vehicles when a licensed driver at least 21 years of age is seated beside them. That person could be an 18-year-old in the case of a legal guardian, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, step-brother or step-sister, according to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

As experienced Norfolk, VA based injury attorneys, we welcome any new research that could make driving a safer experience for teens and other road users. Recently we reported on how teen drivers are well aware of the dangers of distracted driving but still pick up their cell phones on the road.