Incremental Driving Privileges for Teenagers
Almost every parent knows that “pit in the stomach” feeling when they hand the car keys over to their newly licensed teenage son or daughter who is about to solo on the road for the first time. Somewhere in between adolescence and adulthood our children grow up and we have to build their confidence by displaying our trust in their good judgment. Fortunately for parents and young drivers alike, many states are moving into new laws which require everyone learning to drive under the age of eighteen, earn driving privileges incrementally.
For example, in Indiana beginning drivers under the age of 18 receive what’s called a “Probationary Drivers Permit”, also known as the Graduated Driver’s License. IC 9-24-11-3 was passed into law and became effective on July 1st, 2009.
Some restrictions include:
|Driving curfews unless traveling to or from work, school, or a religious event and accompanied by a licensed adult 25 years or older;
|Driving with passenger restrictions; and
|Restrictions on the use of cell phones.
As the minor approaches his or her eighteenth birthday, some restrictions gradually ease although Indiana’s curfew laws remain in effect until the minor reaches the age of majority. The use of cell phones while driving is prohibited under the graduated license law, unless an emergency 911 call needs to be made. You can read a brief overview of Indiana’s graduated driver’s license here.
The CDC states on their website that the accident risk for drivers sixteen to nineteen is four times higher than older drivers. With this in mind, why did it take so many years before states implemented the graduated driver’s license?
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