North Dakota is the only state in the nation without a GDL system. As confirmed by the figures in the last few years, vehicular crashes are the leading cause for teen fatalities not only in North Dakota, but all over the country.

Currently, North Dakota is the only state that has not yet implemented a graduated licensing program. North Dakota only has two stages to its licensing, with a learner's permit being available at age 14, and a full license granted at the minimum of age 16. They lack the intermediate stage, which is the time new drivers should have passenger and nighttime driving restrictions.

This has prompted the North Dakota Coalition for Graduated Drivers Licensing which includes the North Dakota Highway Patrol, the North Dakota Department of Transportation, the North Dakota Department of Health and AAA North Dakota to support a bill to amend that.

The graduated driver's license bill, which is to be presented to the 62nd Legislative Assembly this year recommends a change: three stages to the licensing for new drivers. The additional intermediate phase will include the necessary passenger and nighttime driving restrictions during the first few months of unsupervised driving to better train new drivers into acquiring the skills necessary to be better-equipped safe drivers on the road.

Labels: GDL, gdl laws, Graduated Driver Licensing, graduated licensing, learners permit, north dakota, safe teen drivers

The STANDUP Act, which is short for the Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act is an act that aims to standardize Graduated Driver Licensing programs in all 50 states. Its reasoning: to not only keep new teen drivers safe, but to keep all motorists safe as well.

It lists down certain requirements for states to follow, such as:

• Making the Graduated Driver Licensing program a 3-stage licensing process, with full licensure granted at age 18
• Strict enforcement of curfew for nighttime driving for drivers in the first two stages
• Passenger restriction to only 1 (under the age of 21) that is not immediate family, unless under supervision by an adult driver
• Zero usage of electronic communication devices, be it hand-held or hands-free
• Minimum age for learner’s permit license (stage 1) should be 16, while the minimum age for full license should be 18

Of course this includes that the state has required drivers at least 30 hours of supervised driving and that licensure delays are to be allowed if the new driver commits an offense.

Further studies have proven that stronger GDL laws reduce the number of teen driver-related crashes in the last few years. This is also an indicator of how are times are changing: an emphasis on GDL laws is clearly required in some states more than others.

The act also has separate sections for what happens when states comply with the proposal: an incentive grant will be received by that state after 3 fiscal years of enforcement, while a withholding of state funds for federal highway construction could be imposed for states that don’t follow suit.

As of this writing, the proposed STANDUP Act is still up to the House, Congress and Senators. Concerned citizens who are for this (which a majority of people are) could send a message to their local officials showing their support for it passing. Imagine a future with this in place, where teen crashes are virtually unheard of, and parents can sleep well at night.

Labels: florida gdl laws, GDL, Graduated Driver Licensing, STANDUP Act, teen drivers

According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group. Statistics show that teen drivers aged 16-19 are four times more likely to get into a car accident. These statistics are the basis of a new push by lawmakers to establish national graduated drivers license (GDL) program.

Graduated Drivers license laws are nothing new. In the 1990’s states began to enact GDL laws. The goal of a GDL program is to let a young driver safely gain driving experience before being granted full driving privileges.

One of the reasons for a national GDL program is that fact that GDL laws differ from state to state.

A national GDL law has three main points.

• Adopting a three-stage process to acquire an unrestricted drivers license.


• Prohibiting unsupervised nighttime driving during the first two stages before an unrestricted drivers license.


• Prohibit non-emergency use of cell phones and other electronic devices during the first two license phases.

Presently there are great differences in GDL laws from state to state. In comparing the states of Georgia and Florida gdl laws there are many similarities on minimum learners permit age, holding period and supervised training. However, while Georgia’s GDL Laws include passenger restrictions until the new driver turns 18 years old, Florida has not implemented those requirements.

For Florida a teen can get their learner’s permit at age 15 as opposed to New Jersey where the learners permit age is 16 years old. Another great difference between Florida and New Jersey is the amount of supervised driving practice.

• In Florida a learning driver is required to have 50 hours of supervised driving with ten of those hours to be at night.


• In New Jersey there is no minimum amount of practice time required.

Even though there is a proposal to introduce a national GDL law for minimum age requirements, length of time between each phase or passenger restrictions, one of the most important aspects to a GDL program is the supervised driving experience or driver training to gain experience. Many states are proposing additional driver education through a basic driver improvement or defensive driving course as many states no longer have the budget for driver education resources.

When considering Graduated Driver Licensing programs there is much more than the 3 points to consider for new drivers. With the laws so different for each state, most will agree the goal of a national program is driver safety and education first.

Learn more about your states GDL Laws at the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Labels: driver education, driver training, florida gdl laws, GDL, gdl law, learners permit, teen drivers

Garden State Sponsors First-in-the-Nation Bill

If you knew there was a teenager at the wheel of the car in front of you, would you drive any differently?

New Jersey is the first state in the nation to require new drivers ages 21 and younger to display identifying decals on their vehicles.

Gov. Jon Corzine signed the law recently, and it goes into effect next year.

According to motor vehicle officials, the decals will most likely be a small reflective rectangle attached to the front and rear license plates to help police enforce restrictions on probationary drivers.

Pam Fischer, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Safety, said that police would use them to determine whether teens are violating the state driving curfew and passenger restrictions.

Authorities will not use the decals to target young drivers or pull them over without cause, she cautioned.

Ron Gesualdo, owner of Gene's Driving School in Matawan, said the decals are long overdue and will save lives.

"The parents are for it," he said. "The kids don't say anything, but you know what they're thinking."

The thinking amongst young people is that the decals will only mean more trouble for teenagers.

"That's going to mean police are going to be bothering us even more," said Tebvon Mcneil, 18, of Paterson. "They see that sticker on the car, they're just going to be pulling us over for no reason. Are there drugs in the car? That's the first thing they're going to think, because we're teenagers."

And not everyone thinks the new law will improve driver safety. Jennifer Collins, a 29-year-old Hamilton resident, pondered whether the stickers would distract other drivers who are seeking them out while driving.

"That really doesn't make any sense to me, honestly," she said.

So other drivers using the same car can remove them, Velcro is being considered to attach the decals.

"It will probably be nondescript and simple, and the public at large is probably not even going to notice it," Fischer said.

The decals were one of many new driving restrictions Corzine signed for young adults with probationary licenses, which allow them drive unsupervised under specific conditions.

Other restrictions include moving the driving curfew to 11 p.m. from midnight; allowing only one other young person in the car; and banning the use of cell phones, even hand-free ones.

"These restrictions are in place because they represent the things we know put teens at risk," Fischer said.

David Weinstein, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said although Delaware and Connecticut have toyed with the idea, New Jersey is the first state to require the decal.

Dawn Hopkins, spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Transportation, said they are contemplating offering residents a reflective orange magnet that says, in black, capital letters: "NOVICE DRIVER." The magnets would be voluntary.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 61 percent of teenage passenger deaths in 2007 happened in vehicles driven by another teenager. Twenty percent of all passenger deaths occurred when a teenager was behind the wheel.

New Jersey's decal law was prompted by the driving death of a 16-year-old honor student in Morris County, Kyleigh D'Alessio, who perished in 2006 while riding in a car driven by a teenager with a probationary license.

"No issue is more important than protecting our children, so these efforts are essential to that," Corzine said. "We don't want to lose the beauty and the gifts that a Kyleigh could bring to all of us, and we need to take every step possible to make it something that doesn't occur in the future."

Did you know that courses are available to educate drivers on the rules of the road and the latest defensive driving techniques? Try one now!

Labels: GDL, graduated licensing, teen driver