Safe Roads 4 Teens

Parents Mark National Teen Driver Safety Week by Urging Members of Congress to Support the STANDUP Act

The week of October 16 to 22 has been designated by Congress as National Teen Driver Safety Week (NTDSW) in order to draw attention to this critical public health and safety issue.  To mark this week, 29 parents of children killed in teen-related crashes have combined voices in a letter to urge Congress to pass federal legislation to protect new teen drivers.  The parents, from across the United States, told Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, "For our families, a special week is not needed to highlight the importance of this issue. Each of us has lost a son or daughter in a crash involving a teen driver. For this reason, we are working tirelessly to prevent other parents from enduring this devastating but needless loss. ... It is time for Congress to act to protect our children especially when a successful solution is at hand. We don’t want other families to experience our tragic loss of a child in a preventable crash involving a teen driver. We urge you to recognize National Teen Driver Safety Week and to honor our children by co-sponsoring the STANDUP Act and helping to pass this legislation now." 

Click here to read the full letter.

Click here to read our press release about the letter.

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Why Saferoads4teens?

The crisis of teen crashes 

A promising remedy 

Research has shown that a Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program is an effective method for reducing the crash risk of new drivers. GDL programs introduce teens to the driving experience gradually by phasing in full driving privileges over time and in lower risk settings. Effective GDL laws have multiple components, including a three-stage licensing process and restrictions on nighttime driving, number and age of passengers, and cell phone usage. Research shows that states with strong GDL laws have experienced a reduction in teen driver crashes of up to 40%, and the longer licensure is delayed, the better.

The need for federal action

State GDL laws vary widely with regard to the components included and the strength of the restrictions. This has resulted in an uneven patchwork of stronger and weaker GDL laws across the nation. The federal practice of withholding a percentage of Highway Trust Fund monies from states until they have adopted key lifesaving highway safety laws – known as “sanctions” – has worked effectively to speed up the process of passing state laws and create a uniform safety policy across all 50 states and D.C. This practice has been successful on a number of important issues, such as establishing 21 as the minimum legal drinking age; establishing the allowable blood alcohol concentration level for drivers at .08%; and establishing a zero tolerance policy for underage drinking and driving. With the use of federal sanctions, all 50 states passed these laws in the time allowed, and no state lost money. Even more importantly, these laws are credited with saving more than 25,000 lives. Using this approach to improve state GDL laws would ultimately lead to a reduction in teen driver crashes and related deaths.

The Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act (also called the STANDUP Act) would establish minimum requirements for state GDL laws:
 

• A 3-stage licensing process (learner’s permit and intermediate stage before unrestricted driver’s license);
 

• A prohibition on unsupervised nighttime driving during the learner’s permit and intermediate stages;
 

• A passenger restriction during the learner’s permit and intermediate stage (no more than 1 non-familial passenger under the age of 21 unless a licensed driver over 21 years of age is in the vehicle);

• A prohibition on non-emergency use of cell phones and other communication devices, including text messaging, during the learner’s permit and intermediate stages;

• Age 16 for issuance of learner’s permit and full licensure at age 18;

• Any other requirement adopted by the Secretary of Transportation, including learner’s permit holding period at least 6 months; intermediate stage at least 6 months; at least 30 hours behind-the-wheel, supervised driving by licensed driver 21 years of age or older; automatic delay of full licensure if permit holder commits an offense, such as DWI, misrepresentation of true age, reckless driving, unbelted driving, speeding, or other violations as determined by the Secretary.