Teen Driving Deaths in NJ Trending Down in 2017
New Jersey Teen Drivers Bucking the Trend of Increasing Fatalities
Steady decline in teen driver and teen passenger deaths since NJ strengthened its GDL Law in 2010, but key provisions that could get the state to zero still missing
January 19, 2018 – As fatalities on New Jersey’s roadways climbed for the fourth consecutive year from 542 in 2013 to 634 in 2017, teen driver (16-20 years of age) and teen passenger (teens driven by their peers) deaths bucked this trend falling to 17 and 2, respectively, at the end of last year. While the number of teen driver deaths in 2017 is not the lowest on record – 15 teen motorists lost their lives in 2015 – teen passenger deaths fell to a new low, according to data from the New Jersey State Police.
What’s driving the numbers? Experts point to steps New Jersey took in 2010 to improve its Graduated Driver License Law (GDL): enacting an earlier curfew (11 p.m. versus midnight), a one passenger limit (unless a parent or guardian is in the vehicle) and a decal requirement to aid with enforcement.
“Since we strengthened our GDL law, teen driver-involved fatal crashes have fallen nearly 50 percent from 85 in 2009 to 49 last year,” said Arnold Anderson, Leader of the New Jersey Teen Safe Driving Coalition (Coalition). “This is significant not only because fewer teen drivers died, but also fewer people overall died. What many people don’t realize is that more than half of people killed in teen driver-involved fatal crashes are not the teen drivers or their passengers, but other roadway users.”
While many state GDL laws include nighttime driving and passenger restrictions, New Jersey is the only state that has a decal requirement. The use of a decal or driver identifier, however, is not a new concept; it must be displayed on vehicles operated by novice drivers in other countries including Great Britain, Japan and Australia.
Anderson pointed out that teens are taking the proven provisions of New Jersey’s GDL law seriously. According to a study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 91% of teens holding an intermediate license adhere to the one passenger limit, while 97% comply with the night driving restriction. Compliance with the decal provision, meanwhile, has climbed steadily from less than 10% in 2010, to more than 60%, according to a statewide telephone survey of parents of teen drivers conducted for the Coalition in January 2017 by Cedar Knolls-based OpinionAmerica.
Despite the gains made in reducing teen driver crashes and the resulting fatalities, the Coalition’s more than 150 public and private sector members have adopted a zero goal. “No parents should ever be told their teen was killed or injured in a crash,” said Anderson, a retired law enforcement official. “I had to deliver that news too many times during my career and it was devastating. That’s why zero is the only acceptable number.”
To achieve this goal, the Coalition is calling on the Legislature to work with Governor Murphy to further strengthen New Jersey’s GDL law. Currently, New Jersey is one of only four states (Arkansas, Mississippi and South Dakota being the others) that does not require a teen holding a permit to log a minimum number of supervised practice hours. Most states require a teen to log a minimum of 50 practice hours, including 10 at night, supervised by a valid driver’s license holder (parent, guardian or adult over 21) during the permit phase.
The Coalition is also calling for a longer permit holding period – a minimum of 12 months rather than the current six. “This isn’t a heavy lift,” explained Anderson. “Most teens obtain a permit at age 16, but our GDL law requires them to wait until they’re 17 to take the behind the wheel driving test. A longer permit phase will allow teens – the age group with the highest crash risk – to gain critical experience with continued supervision.”
Parents also play a key role in helping teens survive their most dangerous driving years, which is why the Coalition is calling for parents and their teens to complete a safe driving orientation program as a prerequisite for the latter to obtain a permit. The research-based Share the Keys program, for example, is presented free at high schools throughout New Jersey and shown to increase parental involvement in their teens’ driving. The 75-minute program addresses the increased crash risk for teen drivers, explains how and why New Jersey’s GDL law works to address that risk, promotes the importance of supervised practice, and prompts discussion about setting and enforcing rules via the development of a parent-teen driving agreement and positive role-modeling by parents. Currently, six states (Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, and Northern Virginia) require parents of teen drivers to complete an education program as a condition of their teens’ licensure.
To learn more about New Jersey’s GDL Law, watch the Coalition’s Graduated Driving Licensing Made Simple video and review a list of frequently asked questions on its website, http://www.teensafedriving.org
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About the New Jersey Teen Safe Driving Coalition
The New Jersey Teen Safe Driving Coalition seeks to establish a culture of safe teen driving based on the proven principals of Graduated Driver Licensing. Coalition members are volunteers from state and local law enforcement, highway safety and transportation, public health and the medical community and injury prevention, as well as teens, parents, business leaders, and family members and friends of teen crash victims. New Jersey’s Coalition is one of ten supported by the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety and managed by the National Safety Council. The other states include California, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas.
Contact:
Arnold Anderson, Coalition Leader
Phone: (973) 432-9990
In partnership with
Brought to you by
KJ Feury RN APN, C
karenjean.feury@atlantichealth.org
Phone: 973-971-4327
Fax: 973-290-7350