Ontario’s graduated licensing program works, report finds

Ontario’s Graduated Driver License Law appears to result in lower death and injury rates for teen drivers, with the median age being 16-years old, according to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Death and injury crashes for 16-year-old drivers were 20% lower in jurisdictions which place restrictions on nighttime driving and number of passengers when compared to areas without these limits, according to the study which compares Oregon with Ontario.

“This study shows what the Auto Club has maintained for years, that young drivers need time to develop experience and judgment before meeting the challenges they face on the road,” Auto Club spokesperson Carol Thorp says. “Restricting driving in the most dangerous situations, driving at night and driving with other teens, is among the most important building blocks of teaching teens to drive safely.”

The AAA study found that teens that obey traffic rules and follow graduated licensing regulations are much less likely to crash. For example, the study indicates that 30% of crash-free teens, but only 16% of crash-involved teens, reported that they never violated passenger restrictions during their first six months in the provisional stage of graduated licensing. The study reports that nearly half of the crash-involved teens reported violating the passenger restrictions “more than a few times.”

In addition, 13% of crash-free teens reported receiving a traffic citation compared to 33% of crash-involved teens.

“The study makes it clear that teens who obey traffic laws, follow GDL (graduated licensing) provisions and have actively involved parents are much less likely to be in crashes,” Thorp says.