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EnCompass®
The AAA Companion |
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September | October 2004
Volume 78 Issue 5
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Commentary
Teen Driving Safety — What you told us and what's next
Background
Between 1997 and 1999, AAA Colorado and its coalition partners worked hard to get Colorado's first graduated driver licensing law (GDL) passed.
What is GDL? Graduated licensing is a three-stage system for phasing in on-road driving for new, inexperienced drivers. The first stage is a supervised learner's period, which, as of July 1, 2004, lasts for one year in Colorado. Stage two is an intermediate licensing phase that permits unsupervised driving only in less risky situations. A full-privilege license becomes available at stage three when conditions of the first two stages have been met.
The 1999 Colorado GDL law was a good start. The law enacted provisions for behind-the-wheel experience and late-night driving restrictions during both the permit stage and first year of licensing to provide additional safety measures as teen drivers practiced the necessary driving skills.
During the first two years that Colorado's GDL was in force, statistics showed an 18% decline in teen driver involvement in crashes and fatalities. Now, though, the trend is reversing course; something AAA Colorado believes needs to be addressed with additional safety measures.
Crash data shows that teenage passenger restrictions are a key component of several successful GDL systems in other states, and the last component to make Colorado's GDL system complete.
Teenage passenger
restrictions missing
in Colorado
Colorado's current GDL law does not include teenage passenger restrictions; it only limits the number of passengers in a vehicle to the number of seat belts.
During the 2004 legislative session, AAA Colorado publicly supported and lobbied for HB 1036, a teenage passenger restriction bill that would have made Colorado's GDL law a more comprehensive system and greatly assisted teen drivers during the first critical months of driving. The bill would have placed moderate passenger restrictions during the first six months for newly licensed drivers. We believe that newly licensed teenagers have yet to develop the experience and maturity needed to consistently make good, safe decisions when confronted with unexpected or distracting situations while driving.
Although bombarded with a tremendous amount of support from parents, teen drivers, law enforcement and driving safety advocates, the bill failed to pass the Colorado legislature by only a few votes.
Almost immediately after the bill was defeated, AAA Colorado solicited feedback from its members on this issue. We were overwhelmed by the number of responses supporting teenage passenger restrictions and have decided to pursue passage of another bill during the 2005 legislative session.
What members are telling AAA Colorado
Our first step was to determine if member's would support legislation on teenage passenger restrictions. In the May/June 2004 issue of EnCompass, we conducted a telephone poll asking if you favored enacting laws to limit the number of teenage passengers in cars driven by newly licensed teenage drivers.
In the telephone poll, a resounding 98% of respondents voted in favor of teenage passenger restrictions for newly licensed teenage drivers. Many of you also wrote letters encouraging AAA Colorado to do everything possible to ensure the safety of our youngest drivers — and, by association, the safety of all drivers.
The next step was to identify what provisions you most strongly supported. In the July/August 2004 issue, we conducted a written survey-both in the magazine and on our website, www.aaa.com — asking for your preference when it came to four different proposed provisions.
1. No passengers younger than 20 (family members exempt) allowed in a vehicle driven by a newly licensed teenage driver for the first six months.
2. No passengers younger than 20 (family members exempt) allowed in a vehicle driven by a newly licensed teenage driver for the second six months (or until 17).
3. Only one passenger younger than 20 (family members exempt) allowed in a vehicle driven by a newly licensed teenage driver for the first six moths.
4. Only one passenger younger than 20 (family members exempt) allowed in a vehicle driven by a newly licensed teenage driver for the second six months (or until 17).
Coming from all across Colorado, you once again spoke with a strong, united voice. We received more than 3,000 responses — with more coming in every day as this magazine went to press. A full report on the survey's results can be found at www.aaa.com/teens, or obtained by calling 303-753-8800, ext. 8207 and asking for a written copy.
Three key highlights of the survey:
96% of all respondents voted for at least one of the four proposed restrictions.
80% of all respondents support a law in Colorado that does not allow any passengers younger than 20 (family members exempt) in a vehicle with a newly licensed teenage driver during the first six months.
65% of all respondents support the above restriction being in effect for the second six months of licensing, as well.
Additionally, a significant amount of respondents wrote unsolicited comments-most of which were in support of stronger measures and urging AAA to move quickly.
AAA Colorado's plans and what you can do
Your responses for this issue have confirmed that our efforts are well placed and needed. AAA Colorado believes that restricting the number of teenage passengers in vehicles with newly licensed drivers is a key element of an effective GDL system and will ultimately save countless lives — of all ages.
Now that many AAA members have strongly stated their preference, AAA Colorado's president and CEO, Tony DeNovellis, will work diligently to meet one-on-one with key state legislators, presenting them with the results of all AAA's member polls and surveys, as well as sharing all statistics and relevant studies compiled and conducted on the topic. AAA Colorado will also work with its coalition partners to raise awareness and inform the media, politicians and the general public on this critical safety issue.
For this, we need your help. We need your voice one more time so that there can be no doubt that our state legislators know how AAA members feel about this issue.
So, please, make your voice count — and complete the e-card on Teen Driver Safety.
We will keep you posted on all developments — through this magazine, through our website, www.aaa.com, and our dedicated pages at www.aaa.com/teens.
Some telling facts
It is widely recognized that with peers in the vehicle, teens are more likely to indulge in high-risk driving behaviors, such as speeding, running red lights, not wearing seatbelts and drinking alcohol.
In Colorado, 81 percent of all teens killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2002 had a teen driver-the national average was 65 percent.
77 percent of 16- to 20-year-olds killed in Colorado motor vehicle crashes in 2002 were not wearing seat belts.
In California, where the first significant teen passenger restrictions took effect in 1999, teen passenger deaths and injuries dropped by 23 percent. One study in California showed that inexperienced teen drivers, driving with one teen passenger, nearly doubled their fatal crash risk; having two or more teen passengers increased their fatal crash risk five-fold.
A national study showed that, with three or more passengers, 16-year-old drivers were 12 times more likely to have a fatal crash than 30- to 59-year-olds.
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