The Lane Ranger: Statistics grim for youngest drivers
Joey Ledford - Staff
Sunday, December 3, 2000

You can survive at age 16 without a driver's license. Just ask Michelle Gibson, who didn't get her license until she was nearly 18.

"I thank my parents for making me wait . . . until I was older," said Gibson, a student at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. "Even now, I still feel uncomfortable at times, and I am not afraid to admit that or ask someone else to drive."

Gibson contacted me to talk about April Ledford, a past column subject, a 17-year-old who got into a car with some Newton County High School classmates one October midday for a clandestine off-campus lunch. Sadly, the inexperienced 18-year-old driver lost control and hit another car, killing April. Gibson's brother Blake, a U.S. Marine, was dating April, who herself had decided that she wasn't ready to drive.

More parents might decide that their 16-year-old isn't ready to take the wheel if they were aware of the stark statistics about our youngest drivers and how often they crash.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for all Americans ages 15 to 20, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The fatality rate for teen drivers is about four times as high as it is for drivers 25 to 69.

In 1998, Georgia drivers 16 and 17 had a crash rate that was 227 percent higher than for drivers older than 24, said the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

And when it comes to our youngest drivers, speed is the biggest killer. The speed-related crash rate for those 16- and 17-year-old drivers was more than eight times higher than for drivers over 24.

Crash statistics strongly suggest that Georgia's 3-year-old teen driving law, which places restrictions on our youngest drivers, has saved lives. The highway safety office says overall crash rates for 16- and 17-year-olds dropped more than 13 percent from 1996 to 1998 and fatal crashes declined more than 26 percent.

But with a new spike in teen crashes and deaths this year, lawmakers appear poised to reopen the law and perhaps toughen some of its provisions, including the driving age itself.

In addition, Georgia teens currently are allowed to carry up to three teen passengers who aren't family members, and numerous studies, including one from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, indicate teen passengers are a prescription for disaster.

Another provision that makes driving between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. for teens illegal is also under attack, with safety advocates saying a much earlier curfew is needed because most nighttime teen crashes occur long before midnight.

There is also strong support for making driver's education, nearly absent in Georgia since education reforms of the 1980s, mandatory for prospective drivers.

Last year, AAA Auto Club South did a random survey of 500 of its Georgia members and found that 82 percent favored requiring driver's education, even if the student or the student's family was required to pay for it. Only 15 percent opposed requiring driver's ed.

Another poll question explored how to fund the program, which, even if mandated, might not be returned to public schools because of the amount of time it takes from the school day. Nearly half of those polled --- 49 percent --- said parents should pay for driver's ed at a state-approved rate.

Another 21 percent endorsed higher driver's license fees to finance driver's ed, while 12 percent mentioned higher automobile registration fees.

Even as Georgia lawmakers take another look at teen driving laws --- and driver's ed --- an Atlanta conference this week will look at teen drivers and the dangers they face in detail.

Gary Butler, Georgia program manager for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said new ideas on how to improve driver's ed will be part of a regional symposium on young drivers slated for Wednesday through Friday at the downtown Hilton.

Even though several Southeastern states have graduated license programs that put tougher restrictions on less experienced drivers, no state in the region has implemented all of the recommended components, said Butler.

The focus on teen driving is much needed, he said, as nationwide in 1998, 7,975 drivers 15 to 20 were involved in fatal crashes, including 278 in Georgia.

"There needs to be a public outcry," Butler said. "We can't keep on with business as usual."

For more information on the teen driving symposium, contact NHTSA at 404-562-3739.

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