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

This week is the National Teen Driver Safety Week (Oct 17-23) and since it has been established by Congress 3 years ago, this time of the year is dedicated to helping teen drivers understand the responsibility that comes with driving. Each year, the leading cause for unnecessary teen deaths is vehicular accidents, and it’s good to know that the Congress is doing something about it.

This year’s theme, which is appropriate --- is distraction. That is, ending distractions on the road for teen drivers. Distracted driving is the number 1 reason why new drivers end up in needless accidents. To help spread the message of stopping distracted driving, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, along with State Farm Insurance have teamed up to present the “Park the phone. Drive.” (or the NNID) PSA.

Some ways to help spread the message on teen driving safety is to share the PSA through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, websites or find ways to get it shown to a local community.



Another way is by initiating a “Ride Like A Friend. Drive Like You Care.” (RLAF) campaign in your school. It is a campaign designed to teach safe teen passenger and driver behavior. Its main goal is for small groups of teens to start informing their fellow teens about teen driving safety and ultimately making press coverage. All of the information and materials needed are available for FREE at the RLAF site. (http://www.ridelikeafriend.org/)

The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has a message for all teen drivers: “Keep your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road, and both (hands and eyes) away from your cell phone while driving.” They have even outlined a specific strategy to combat unsafe teen driving behaviors:

• 1. Increase seat belt use.


• 2. Reduce teens’ access to alcohol.


• 3. Implement graduated licensing program by state.

These steps can be adopted by local driving safety advocates for them to teach parents, educators and teen drivers that accidents can be prevented by safe driving practices.

Lastly, one of the best options is to start from home: if there are teen drivers in the family, this may be the best week to review driving safety habits not just for the teens, but also for all drivers in the family.

Labels: banning texting, florida gdl laws, gdl laws, Graduated Driver Licensing, teen driver safety, texting and driving

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