National Safety Council Adopts Policy to Support Teen Driving Safety
Itasca, Ill. – The National Safety Council (NSC) announced its support for Graduated
Driver Licensing (GDL) laws to save lives, especially of teen drivers. Representatives of
the NSC’s 50,000 member organizations adopted this policy statement recently at their annual
meeting in Anaheim, Calif.
The policy, available on the NSC website at
Graduated Driver Licensing Policy, encourages states to adopt a GDL model for teen
drivers under 18 years old with three stages: 1) A Learners’ Permit period of six months or longer during
which teens drive with a supervising adult; 2) A Provisional license stage with specific restrictions for
unsupervised driving; and 3) Full licensure. The NSC model includes these recommendations for Provisional
licenses:
- Unsupervised driving only before 10 p.m.,
- No passengers under age 18,
- Zero tolerance for alcohol use with mandatory penalties,
- Mandatory seat belt use, and
- No use of cell phones or text messaging devices.
“We have documented the effectiveness of GDL in reducing teen crashes, injuries and fatalities,”
said Janet Froetscher, President & CEO of the NSC. “Most states now have some element of GDL and several
states have developed comprehensive GDL systems that address the principal areas of teen driver risk.
Scientific evaluations report that comprehensive GDL systems have contributed to a 20 percent reduction
in teen fatalities in the studied states.
“However,” she continued, “no state has a GDL system that matches the NSC ‘best practice’ model in
every respect. We developed the model to guide state legislators looking to improve their GDL laws and
save even more lives in their states.”
For example, Froetscher said many states have nighttime driving restrictions that begin later than 10 p.m.
or have passenger restrictions that allow one or more passengers in vehicles driven by teens during their
Provisional licensing stage.
The NSC policy includes two additional provisions: 1) Calling on the U.S. Congress to provide financial
incentives to states to enact comprehensive GDL systems; and 2) Encouraging parents to implement this
‘best practice’ GDL model for their own teens regardless of their particular state laws.
“The NSC will continue to educate parents, state legislators and Congress to understand how they each can
play a role in applying GDL best practices to reduce the risks of teen crashes,” Froetscher said.
The National Safety Council (www.nsc.org) saves lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes, communities and
on the roads, through leadership, research, education and advocacy.
