Monday, December 20, 1999
Are teen drivers getting better?
Some say tougher laws help
BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Almost a year after Ohio imposed tougher standards on teens seeking driver licenses, parents and youngsters suggest the law is making 16- and 17-year-olds into safer drivers.
“Some people complain about it, but for me at least, it made me more confident,” said Drew Griesser, a 16-year-old junior at Milford High School, who drove more than 70 hours before earning his license.
Whether new rules are saving lives, as has been reported in other states, is unclear — it's too early for complete first-year Ohio statistics.
Starting in January, Ohio required:
• Eight additional hours of classroom driver education. This brings the total to 24 in class, plus eight behind the wheel with an instructor.
• 50 hours behind the wheel with a parent or guardian, including 10 hours at night.
That shift linked Ohio to 34 other states with tougher “graduated licensing” laws that put new restrictions on teens. (“Graduated” means extra steps between a temporary permit and full license.)
The new law also allowed
teens to receive a temporary permit at 151/2 instead of 16.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says Ohio and Indiana are among states with the most steps for teen-agers seeking full driving privileges.
The institute says Kentucky's graduated license system is less rigorous than those in Ohio and Indiana. In Kentucky, 16-year-olds must have their temporary permits at least six months before they can get their driver licenses. Youngsters with permits must be accompanied by someone at least 21 while driving.
Florida started the trend in 1996 because teen driving was so poor compared to other age groups. Between 1995, the last full year before Florida's graduated licensing, and 1997, the first full year of graduated licensing, the crash rates for 15- to 17-year-olds declined 9 percent, according to a January report by the insurance institute and Preusser Research Group Inc.
Traditionally, younger drivers are risk takers; they wear safety belts less frequently than other age groups; they like to drive fast; and they're less experienced.
The result: Nationally, teens have the highest crash rate among all age groups.
In Ohio in 1998, nearly 70,000 drivers ages 16 to 20 were blamed in crashes, according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety. That accounted for 10.6 percent of all driver errors in crashes — the highest of any age group. The next highest percentage was among 21-to 25-year-olds who were in error in 6.1 percent of crashes.
Tough as it is to schedule Ohio's additional 50 hours into after-school activities, the 10 hours of nighttime driving is even more problematic in the summer, when it stays light longer.
And as anyone who has been there knows, confining parent and child in a car for driver training can be frustrating or worse.
Still, parents interviewed say the more demanding training makes them more comfortable when they hand over car keys to their teens.
“It's like anything else — practice really works,” said Sally Hilvert, of College Hill, who was a little nervous to go out with daughter Emily at first. “She's more aware when she's driving now.”
Emily, 16, said she's picked up defensive driving pointers that stick with her:
• Mom reminds her not to assume everyone is going to come to a stop at a four-way stop sign.
• Dad reminds her to watch for people near parked cars.
“Overall, it's a good thing,” Emily said.
Pat Snyder of Fairfield said she and her husband spent more time practicing with their son Andy, 16, than they did with his older brother.
Parents or guardians have to vouch their teen has spent the extra hours driving, through a notarized statement. Teens need to show that document when they apply for their probationary license issued to anyone under 18.
It's not a fool-proof system.
“People can still lie, there's no doubt about it,” said Drew's mother, Christy Griesser. “But another fail-safe is the that they have to have the permit for six months before they can get their license. The reality is, in six months chances are they've had more experience. Six months is a long time to hold on to the permit.”
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