Study shows decade of decline in teen crash rates
State officials celebrate ten years under the graduated drivers licensing law.
It’s been ten years since Delaware’s graduated driver licensing law went into affect, and state officials say it’s paid off.
A study released today shows the number of crashes involving 16-year-old drivers dropped from 1,000 in 1999 to 596 in 2000. “We are thrilled to see the overall decrease in crashes among 16-year-old drivers,” says Jana Simpler, director for the Office of Highway Safety. In the last ten years, crashes involving 16-year-old drivers were down 31%, while crashes between the hours of 10 PM and 6 AM are down 59%.
Delaware’s graduated driver licensing law requires supervised driving for young drivers and restricts the hours 16-year-olds can be behind the wheel. A parent must be in the car with the teen for the first six months they are behind the wheel. The law also restricted the number of passengers a teen driver could carry and limited night-time driving.
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