Texas
Deaths in Crashes Involving Teen Drivers in Texas
In 2008, 650 people were killed in crashes involving teen drivers in Texas. Over the past five years, Texas crashes involving teen drivers claimed 3414 lives. Nationally, since 1999, more than 84,400 people have been killed in crashes involving teen drivers.
Graduated Driver Licensing Laws in Texas
The current GDL law in Texas includes the following components:
- A three-stage licensing system beginning at age 15 for learner’s permit, age 16 for the intermediate stage, and age 16 years and 6 months for full licensure
- A mandatory 6 month holding period for the learner’s permit stage
- A prohibition on unsupervised nighttime driving between midnight and 5 a.m. during the intermediate stage (secondary enforcement)
- A passenger restriction prohibiting more than one passenger younger than age 21 (secondary enforcement)
- A prohibition on non-emergency use of cell phones, both hand-held and hands-free, during the learner’s permit stage and for the first twelve months of the intermediate stage
- A prohibition on texting while driving for the first twelve months of the intermediate stage and for all drivers while in school crossing zones
These changes are needed to improve Texas’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 prohibitions on non-emergency use of cell phones and texting while driving by extending them for the entire intermediate stage through age 17
