What Rules Do Parents Put in Place?
To reduce driving risks, most parents establish rules for their kids. Our 2005 survey found that about 78 percent of parents surveyed do so. (See Table 2 below.) Limitations on the number and/or age of passengers allowed in the vehicle headed the list, followed by geographic restrictions. Some of these are right on target with Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws. GDL laws are designed to allow beginning drivers to get early experience under less risky conditions, introducing them in stages to more complex driving scenarios. The “model” GDL proposed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Traffic Injury Research Foundation recommends that GDL laws should… – License drivers with a learner’s permit no younger than 16 – Require parental supervision of teen driving for 30-50 hours over a period of at least six months. (Many states are currently considering increasing the term to 12 months; California has already done so, effective January, 2006. – Require an intermediate s
