Kansas
Deaths in Crashes Involving Teen Drivers in Kansas
In 2008, 67 people were killed in crashes involving teen drivers in Kansas. Over the past five years, Kansas crashes involving teen drivers claimed 420 lives. Nationally, since 1999, more than 84,400 people have been killed in crashes involving teen drivers.
Graduated Driver Licensing Laws in Kansas
The current GDL law in Kansas includes the following components:
- A three-stage licensing system beginning at age 14 for learner’s permit, age 16 for the intermediate stage, and age 16 years and 6 months for full licensure
- A mandatory 12 month holding period for the learner’s permit stage
- A minimum of 25 hours of supervised practice driving during the learner’s permit stage, and another 25 hours of supervised driving before age 16; at least 10 of the 50 total hours must be at night
- A prohibition on unsupervised nighttime driving between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. during the intermediate stage
- A passenger restriction prohibiting more than one passenger younger than age 18 for the first six months after licensure
- A prohibition on non-emergency use of hands-free and hand-held cell phones during the learner’s permit and intermediate stages
- A prohibition on texting while driving during the learner’s permit and intermediate stages
These changes are needed to improve Kansas’s GDL law and meet the requirements of the STANDUP Act
- Require age 16 for entry into the learner’s permit stage
- Extend restrictions on teen drivers through age 17
- Strengthen the passenger restriction to prohibit more than one non-familial passenger under the age of 21 unless a licensed driver over the age of 21 is in the vehicle, for the entire intermediate stage through age 17
