A newly published study from Washington State University indicates that tougher teen driving laws can reduce drinking and driving among teens 16 to 17 by half. The study included 220,000 teen drivers and measured the effects of two driving laws: graduated driving and use-and-lose laws. “Associations Between Selected State Laws and Teenagers’ Drinking and Driving Behaviors” was published online in June and will be available in the September edition of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
Results of the study clearly showed that the teens who reported the least risky behavior were in the states with the strictest teen driving laws. The graduated licensing laws limit the number of passengers a teen can drive with for a specific time period, as well as how late at night they are allowed to drive. This law is intended to give the teen more driving experience without distraction of friends. The use-and-lose laws suspend a teen’s license if they are caught consuming, purchasing, or even in possession of alcohol.
U.S. teens only make up 5% of all drivers; however, they account for 20 percent of driving accidents and fatalities. The study looked at the propensity to drive after drinking alcohol, as well as reports of riding in a car with an intoxicated driver. Both behaviors were reduced in the states with the toughest teen driving laws.
Though the research shows that the laws have a direct correlation, is there more to the story? Are the laws also influencing the parents? As many parents can attest, a teen driver is quite expensive to insure. Are these laws influencing the parents as much as the teenagers? Do the laws encourage parents to speak more with their teens about the dangers of drinking and driving? Is it simply that they aren’t able to be out as late, and thus have less opportunity to drink?
Whatever the cause, the news is positive, and illustrates the best case scenario for the impact of stringent laws.
