New Teen Driving Law Starts July 1
29 June 1998
New Teen Driving Law Starts July 1 Designed to Reduce Auto Crashes - a Leading Killer of Teens; AAA Offers Free Guide to New Law
SAN FRANCISCO--June 29, 1998--A new law requiring more driving experience for teen-agers before becoming fully licensed takes effect July 1.The graduated driver licensing (GDL) law, sponsored by AAA and authored by Sen. Tim Leslie, R-Tahoe City, requires all drivers under 18 to hold an instruction permit for at least six months, rather than 30 days, before obtaining a provisional license.
"Auto crashes are the second leading cause of death for California teens," said AAA of Northern California spokesman Paul Moreno. "This law gives teens more time to develop and practice safe driving skills, while minimizing exposure to dangerous driving situations. It will save the lives of teen-agers and their passengers."
Provisions of the Brady/Jared Teen Driver Safety Act of 1997 include:
-- Before a teen can receive a provisional license, a parent must
certify that the child has 50 hours of driving practice - at
least 10 of them at night - during the instruction permit
(learner's permit) period. Existing requirements for driver
education and training remain unchanged.
-- During the first six months of a teen's provisional license, no
passengers under 20 may ride in a vehicle operated by a teen
unless a licensed driver age 25 or older is also present, except
for family need.
-- During the first year of a teen's provisional license, driving
between midnight and 5 a.m. is prohibited unless a licensed
driver age 25 or older is present. Exceptions are granted for
work, medical necessity, school events and family.
-- Teen drivers will not be stopped solely because they are
suspected of violating the Teen Driver Safety Act as enforcement
is secondary, not primary.
Advocates of the new law say teens are at great risk from death and injury while driving, and note that:
-- On average, a teen driver is killed every other day in
California, according to the California Highway Patrol.
-- While teens 16 to 19 years old make up only 4 percent of licensed
drivers in California, they are the drivers in 9 percent of fatal
car crashes, and 10 percent of injury crashes.
-- Crash rates for 16-year-old drivers are three times higher than
that of 17-year-old drivers, and twenty times as much as the rest
of the driving population, according to the AAA Foundation for
Traffic Safety.
-- Two-thirds of teens killed or injured in traffic crashes are
passengers in vehicles driven by other teens, according to the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
-- Nighttime driving is particularly dangerous. Nationally, 15
percent of driving by 16- to 19-year-olds takes place between 9
p.m. and 5 a.m., yet drivers these ages account for 38 percent of
fatal crashes during these hours, according to the Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety.
In addition to California, seven other states have enacted full GDL laws while 13 have partial GDL laws, according to AAA.
"Right now, California has the toughest GDL law," said Alice Bisno, legislative director for the Automobile Club of Southern California, the state's southern AAA affiliate. "With the state's teen population expected to increase by one-third over the next 10 years, the Auto Clubs did not want the number of teen driver deaths and injuries to increase, too."
The Brady/Jared Teen Driver Safety Act of 1997 is named for Brady Grasinger and Jared Cunningham, two teens killed in separate auto crashes in Southern California.
Copies of AAA's free brochure, "Teen Drivers: A Guide to California's New Graduated Driver License," were distributed earlier this year to California high schools. Guides are also available through:
-- AAA district offices throughout California
-- AAA's Web site: www.csaa.com/education/teendriver
-- AAA's Traffic Safety Department. Call 415/565-2308 to receive a
copy by mail.
Established more than 90 years ago, the AAA affiliate of Northern California, Nevada and Utah offers a wide array of automotive, travel, insurance and financial services. It is the second largest regional affiliate of the national AAA organization.
NOTE TO EDITORS: AAA will distribute a video news release via satellite on the GDL law on Monday, June 29 at 4 p.m. EST. The coordinates are Galaxy 9-2.
