Young drivers

Strengthen minor school license (MSL) and graduated driver’s license (GDL) laws with stronger provisions that are proven to reduce specific risks and save lives.

On Jan. 1, 1999, Iowa’s GDL law took effect, creating a three-tier licensing system for young drivers. Between 1998 (before the law) and 2005, the 16-year-old driver moving violations declined 41 percent and the overall 16-year-old driver crash rate declined 31 percent. Despite these gains, Iowa’s teens are still over-represented in crashes.

Since Iowa’s GDL went into effect, national studies report that stronger comprehensive GDL provisions are most effective. These are areas where Iowa could strengthen GDL and other young driver provisions:

• Raise the school license age.
• Increase practice hours with parents.
• Reduce night driving.
• Restrict passengers.
• Require occupant restraints in all seating positions.
• Prohibit use of cell phones when the vehicle is in operation.

• Teens and young adults (15- to 24- year-olds) are 17 percent of Iowa’s licensed drivers, but suffer 40 percent of all fatal and serious traffic injuries.
• Fourteen-year-olds are allowed to drive unsupervised on public roadways in Iowa and in only three other states (MSL).
• Comparing same-age drivers, unsupervised MSL drivers are 11.5 times more likely to have a traffic crash, and 6.5 times more likely to have moving violation conviction than supervised instructional licensed drivers.
• When a teen drives with more than one passenger, the risk of crashing is three to five times higher than while driving alone.
• Just 39 percent of teens that were fatally injured in traffic crashes were wearing seat belts.
• The majority of people killed in young driver crashes are people other than the teen drivers.