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New Teen Driving Laws Take Effect in 5 States On July 1

30 June 1999

New Teen Driving Laws Take Effect in 5 States On July 1

    WASHINGTON, D.C.--June 29, 1999--New driving laws aimed at reducing teen driving deaths will take effect on July 1 in five states - Delaware, Kansas, Utah, Maryland and Colorado.
    A similar law will take effect on August 1 in North Dakota.
    The new laws bring the total number of states with special teen driving laws - known as Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) - to 34.
    GDL is a three-stage licensing process that helps to ensure teenagers have adequate behind-the-wheel experience before driving alone. Despite representing only seven percent of all drivers, teens account for 14 percent of traffic fatalities. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers.
    AAA began its campaign for passage of GDL legislation in the states in 1997, when only eight states had GDL.
    "Working with the local AAA clubs and other safety organizations in the state legislatures, we hope to have 40 states with GDL laws by the end of 1999," said Susan Pikrallidas, AAA's managing director of government relations.
    Ten states will be targeted for GDL passage in the next two years: Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming. These states have either had GDL legislation fail in the last two years or have never had such legislation introduced.
    In addition to the 34 states with GDL, there are GDL bills awaiting action by governors in Hawaii and Missouri. Another four states have bills pending in their legislatures.
    AAA is a not-for-profit federation of 90 clubs with 1,100 offices providing nearly 42 million members in the U.S. and Canada with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services.

    AAA news releases can be downloaded from http://www.aaa.com/news