Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog
According to The Palm Beach Post, the number of teen car accidents in Weston and elsewhere could be reduced if state lawmakers beefed up their teen driving laws by taking steps to reinforce Graduated Driver’s Licensing (GDL) program.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently released a report that compared the teen driving laws in all 50 states. The report states that Florida would see a near 50 percent reduction in fatal accidents among drivers aged 15- to 17-years-old if it were to enact just a few stronger rules on its young drivers, like instituting a teen passenger restriction or raising the age to get a learner’s permit.
“If every state adopted all five components of the toughest young driver laws in the nation, more than 500 lives could be saved and more than 9,500 collisions could be prevented each year,” claims the IIHS report.
Our Weston car accident lawyers understand that there are five components to comprehensive teen driving laws. These five issues can help to reduce the risks of accidents and they include, teen passenger restrictions, nighttime driving hours, licensing age, supervised driving hours and permit age. The IIHS says that the best time to allow a driver with an intermediate license in the age of 17, which doesn’t happen in here of Florida. Drivers in our state can get a learner’s permit at 15, an operational license at 16 and then an unrestricted license at 18.
“States could see immediate reductions in fatal crashes and collision claims as soon as the beefed-up provisions are in force,” says Anne McCartt with the IIHS.
Teens throughout the country are required to complete various versions of the Graduated Driver’s Licensing (GDL) program before they can hit the road without any specialized laws. Through the GDL program, teen drivers learn valuable skills through a variety of stages with different sets of rules, exposing them to driving techniques a few at a time. When their program is completed, they’re set out on the road to abide by the same road laws as you and I.
Back in the 90s, states started to pass GDL laws. By the end of 2000, all but nine states had various GDL laws. Unfortunately, these laws and regulations vary from state to state because there is still no nationwide GDL program.
Back in 2000, the IIHS started looking at states and their GDL programs and started rating their regulations and their effectiveness. Back then, there were only six states that pulled good rankings. Nine returned poor ratings.
In 2010, there were 80 teen drivers killed in car accidents across the state. That’s a zero percent change from the year before, suggesting that state lawmakers need to beef up their laws and enforcement of them to help keep our young drivers safe.
If you or your teenage driver has been injured or killed in a car accident in Weston, Margate, Hallandale or elsewhere in the South Florida area, contact the personal injury lawyer of Freeman, Mallard, Sharp & Gonzalez, LLC to schedule a free and confidential appointment to discuss your rights. Call 1-800-561-7777.
Additional Resources:
Report: State could reduce teen crash deaths by adopting tougher laws, by Mike Trim, The Palm Beach Post
More Blog Entries:
Risks of Teen Car Accidents in Margate and Elsewhere Concerning Officials, Fort Lauderdale Car Accident Attorney Blog, April 25, 2012