Teenage driver law saves lives
8:00 PM 1/03/04

Public policy can accomplish no greater good than to save lives. That's why the graduated driver's license law Wisconsin introduced to help teenagers become safer drivers deserves to be recognized as a resounding success. <

That's also why teenagers and parents should continue to support the law and to ensure that compliance with its provisions does not diminish. <

A review by the Associated Press found that in the first two full years the law was in effect, 2001 and 2002, the number of people killed in accidents statewide in which a 16-year-old driver was at the wheel declined to an average of 21 per year. The average was 25 per year over the previous five years. That's eight lives saved in two years - eight families who don't have to bury a loved one. <

Meanwhile, total traffic deaths in Wisconsin in 2002 rose to a 12-year high. <

The number of people severely injured in accidents with 16-year-old drivers in 2001 and 2002 dropped even more substantially - by 31 percent. <

Overall, 16-year-old drivers had 15 percent fewer reported accidents per year in the two years the law has been in effect. Dane County accidents declined 9 percent, meaning 59 fewer accidents per year. <

Sixteen-year-olds are most directly affected by the changes the state made to driver's licenses. <

Formerly, Wisconsin allowed a teenage driver to get a learner's permit at age 15 and, upon successful completion of requirements, graduate to an unrestricted license at 16. Under the new law, a teenager completes the requirements of the learner's permit and is then granted a "practice" license that places initial restrictions on late-night driving and driving without adult supervision. The restrictions continue until the driver is 18. <

The changes were designed to address a dangerous driving problem - teenagers' inexperience. When the Legislature was considering changes to the driver's license law, teenage drivers were 6 percent of Wisconsin drivers, but were involved in 14 percent of crashes. <

It's important for Wisconsin to continue to promote safer teenage driving. As anyone who has tried to travel an Interstate highway at the posted 65 mph speed limit knows, laws of the road are often flouted. And the flouting often grows worse as drivers become accustomed to ignoring standards. Let's not permit that to happen to the teenage driver's license law. It deserves to be obeyed. It saves lives.