Views of Parents of Teenagers About Graduated Licensing Systems

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Abstract

Several states enacted elements of graduated licensing systems in 1996. Connecticut introduced a six-month required learner’s permit period. Florida enacted a six-month learner’s period plus a night driving curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds. Parents of 15-year-olds in these states were surveyed to determine their views concerning the new requirements. Parents of graduating seniors in Connecticut and three other northeastern states also were surveyed. Results indicate that, in all six populations, support for graduated licensing was strong. Parents of 15-year-olds in Connecticut and Florida endorsed their new licensing systems, even though there was recognition that they and their children would be inconvenienced to some extent, and many wanted even tougher licensing provisions. Eighty-two percent of Connecticut parents of 15-year-olds thought there should be a night driving curfew for initial license holders, a provision that had been considered but was rejected.

Introduction

State licensing systems in the United States generally have allowed quick and easy passage to full-privilege driving at an early age. Licenses are obtainable at a younger age than in many other countries, and many states have minimal pre-licensure requirements (Williams, Weinberg, Fields, & Ferguson, 1996). Teenagers in general, especially 16- and 17-year-olds, have elevated crash rates per mile driven compared with older drivers; the rate for 16-year-olds is almost three times that of 18- and 19-year-olds (Williams, 1996).

Many states are now considering graduated licensing systems, which will transform the licensing process. Graduated licensing was developed to introduce beginners to driving in stages so that initial, on-road experience is gained in more protective settings. It extends the licensing process so that full-privilege licensure is not attained until teenagers are older and somewhat more mature. In doing so, graduated licensing introduces limitations on mobility that affect both young people and their parents. There are two stages prior to getting a full-privilege license: a minimum required period (generally six months or longer) in a learner’s stage, during which supervised driving is allowed and encouraged, followed by an initial license for a set period of time that allows driving only under lower risk situations, (e.g., in daylight hours and/or with a prohibition on transporting teenage passengers without an adult present). Some states have elements of graduated licensing, (e.g., night-driving curfews or a required learner’s permit holding period); in 1996 Florida enacted a system including both stages.

Florida’s graduated licensing system includes a six-month required learner’s phase and a night driving curfew for 16-year-olds (11 p.m. to 6 a.m.) and 17-year-olds (1 a.m. to 5 a.m.) unless accompanied by an adult, or if they are driving to or from work. Before this law, permits could be obtained but were not required, and there were no nighttime restrictions for initial license holders.

Connecticut enacted a required learner’s period of six months which, combined with a minimum permit age of 16, extends the initial licensing age to 1612 years. Before this law, Connecticut had no learner’s permit. Sixteen year-olds could be licensed after completing driver education or home training. A night-driving curfew was in an early version of the Connecticut bill but ultimately was rejected.

Parents are obviously an important interest group. A recent national survey of parents of 17-year-olds indicated strong support for graduated licensing (Ferguson & Williams, 1996), echoing findings of an earlier survey (Williams & Lund, 1986). These surveys were undertaken in states where graduated licensing did not exist. Now that states are beginning to introduce such licensing systems, or elements of them, it is of interest to see how parents in these states react. Parents of 15-year-olds, whose children are about to begin the licensing process, were surveyed in Florida and Connecticut to find out their views about old and new requirements and views about graduated licensing in general.

Also presented are views of parents of graduating seniors in four northeastern states, including Connecticut. The sons and daughters of these parents participated in a longitudinal survey starting in their freshman year, and at the end of the study (May-June, 1996) their parents also were interviewed about the licensing process and graduated licensing (Preusser, Ferguson, Williams, Leaf, & Farmer, 1997).

The states in the longitudinal study were selected because they vary widely in the stringency of their licensing requirements. Delaware is considered to be an easy-licensing state. So was Connecticut at the time the data were collected. New York has a strong night-driving curfew for young beginners (it starts at 9 p.m.), and New Jersey is the one U.S. state that withholds licensure until age 17. Crash rates for 16-year-olds in Connecticut and Delaware have been found to be substantially higher than in New York and New Jersey (Ferguson, Leaf, Williams, & Preusser, 1996).

Section snippets

Parents of 15-Year-Olds

A random sample of residential telephone numbers of parents of 15-year-olds in Connecticut and Florida was obtained from Genesys Sampling Systems. This national database contains more than 80% of all households in these states and includes demographic and other information. Potential respondents in Connecticut and Florida were randomly selected from all households with 15 year-olds.

Calls were made in Connecticut until 400 interviews were completed and in Florida until 500 were done. A total of

Results

Table 1 indicates parents’ views of graduated licensing and its separate elements. Among parents in all states, there was strong support for a required minimum period of supervised driving before a teenager can get a driver’s license, with 90% or more in favor of this provision. Support for a curfew (“Are you in favor of a nightdriving curfew for beginning teenage drivers?”) ranged from 75% to 94%. There was less support for restrictions on transporting other teenagers in the car without an

Discussion

Parents in Connecticut and Florida, whose 15-year-old children were about to encounter the new licensing systems enacted in these states, endorsed the changes. More than 90% in each state favored the new requirement of a minimum driving period prior to licensure, and most of those in favor endorsed a supervised period of six months or longer, as the laws now require. Ninety percent in Florida were in favor of a night-driving curfew provision. In Connecticut, where such a curfew was debated and

Allan F. Williams and Susan F. Ferguson work at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Arlington, VA. William A. Leaf and David F. Preusser are with the Preusser Research Group, Trumbull, CT.

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Allan F. Williams and Susan F. Ferguson work at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Arlington, VA. William A. Leaf and David F. Preusser are with the Preusser Research Group, Trumbull, CT.

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