Driver Ed Good For Teen Motorists

Graduated driving programs produce safer teen drivers, as long as they are not talking on a cell phone, according to two recent studies.

Driver education licensing programs reduce, by an average of 11 percent, the incidence of fatal crashes of 16-year-old drivers, according to a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University.

When examining driving records of graduates the most comprehensive driver education programs, researchers found about a 20 percent reduction in fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration primarily supported the study. “This study strongly underscores the effectiveness of graduated licensing laws,” said Nicole Nason, NHTSA administrator. “To states searching for solutions to the tragic problem of fatal crashes involving teenagers, it provides extremely valuable new information.”

Such driving programs differ in each state, but those used in this study contained the following components:

oMinimum age of 15 and a half for obtaining a learner's permit;

oA waiting period after obtaining a learner permit of at least three months before applying for an intermediate license;

oA minimum of 30 hours of supervised driving

oRestrictions to daylight driving only and number of passengers.

In a separate study conducted by the University of Utah, researchers found that motorists who talk on hand-held or hands-free cellular phones are as impaired as drunken drivers.

Frank Drews, assistant professor of psychology, said cell-phone using motorists were as impaired as if they had a blood-alcohol content of .08 percent.

The study reinforced earlier research by Mr. Drews showing that hands-free cell phones are just as distracting as handheld cell phones because it is the conversation itself that distracts from the driver from observing road conditions.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, an estimated two-thirds of the states explored restrictions on the use of cell phones while driving last year.

Today, four states – Colorado, Delaware, Maryland and Tennessee – have banned teen motorists from using cell phones while driving.