Effect of Florida's graduated licensing program on the crash rate of teenage drivers.
On 1 July 1996, Florida instituted a graduated licensing program for drivers younger than age 18. For the first 3 months, holders of learner's licenses are not allowed to drive at all between 19:00 and 06:00 h; thereafter, they may drive until 22:00 h. Learner's licenses must be held for 6 months prior to eligibility for the intermediate license. Sixteen-year-old intermediate license holders are not permitted to drive unsupervised from 23:00 to 06:00 h, 17 year-olds from 01:00 to 06:00 h. All drivers younger than 18 have strict limits on the number of traffic violations they can accumulate and, effective 1 January 1997, all drivers younger than 21 are subject to a zero tolerance law for drinking and driving. Florida crash data for 1995-1997 were obtained and compared with similar data from Alabama, a state that borders Florida but does not have graduated licensing. For 15, 16, and 17 year-olds combined, there was a 9% reduction in the fatal and injury crash involvement rate in Florida during 1997, the first full year of graduated licensing, compared with 1995. On a percentage basis, crashes declined most among 15 year-olds, followed by 16 year-olds and then 17 year-olds. Reductions were not seen among Alabama teenagers nor among 18 year-olds in Florida.
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Preusser Research Group, Inc., Trumbull, CT 06611, USA. preusser@worldnet.att.net
Preusser
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Williams
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Ferguson
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Farmer
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D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D001333:Automobile Driver Examination / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000193:education* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006801:Humans; D008004:Licensure / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008297:Male; D012449:Safety / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence