DMV Recommends Changes to GDL Program

ALBANY, NY (04/27/2009)(readMedia)-- Commissioner David J. Swarts of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Chair of the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) today announced that DMV has proposed legislation to the Governor and the Legislature that would strengthen the graduated driver licensing (GDL) provisions of the Vehicle and Traffic Law to ensure the safety of junior drivers, their passengers and the motoring public. A bill that would make the recommended changes to the Vehicle and Traffic law was introduced in the Senate by Senator Dilan (S.3619) and recently reported to the Senate Codes Committee for consideration.

The departmental bill prohibits holders of junior licenses from operating a vehicle while using any portable electronic device, which includes hand-held and hands-free mobile telephones, laptop computers, Blackberrys and any other device used for texting. The bill also increases the number of behind the wheel practice hours that must be certified by a parent or guardian of a junior driver from 20 hours to 50 hours, 15 of which must be after sunset. It also reduces, from two to one, the number of non-family passengers under the age of 21 who can be a passenger of a junior driver who is not accompanied by a supervising adult.

"Inexperience and inadequate driving skills, as well as distraction from teenage passengers, are significant contributing factors to crashes involving young drivers," Commissioner Swarts said. "Passage of this legislation will help prevent fatalities and injuries involving teens on New York's highways and I cannot think of anything more important than saving the lives of our young people."

Other factors that contribute to the higher crash rates of junior drivers include inexperience driving during night-time, risk-taking behavior and poor driving judgment and decision making.

Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death in young people ages 16-24. The majority of crashes occur during the first six months of licensed driving when young, inexperienced drivers have not yet adequately developed key driving skills and habits such as: driving attention, visual search strategies, speed relative to conditions, hazard recognition and emergency maneuvers.

Among other proposed changes, loopholes that let junior drivers escape licensing sanctions for certain traffic violations, when the license held at the time of conviction is of a different class than the license or permit held when the violation was committed, would be closed. Furthermore, any plea bargaining by junior drivers of "moving" violations that impose points on a license would be restricted. Other technical changes, including eliminating the limited junior class license, are intended to make the law more understandable and more easily enforced.

The departmental bill was submitted to Governor David A. Paterson for introduction in the Senate and Assembly. A similar bill submitted by the Department last year was passed by the Assembly but failed in the Senate.

This bill is just one of several steps taken by Governor Paterson and Commissioner Swarts to address the serious issue of teen-driver safety. In 2007, an Office for the Younger Driver was created within the DMV to further improve highway safety.

In July of 2008, the Legislature passed a law that created a temporary special advisory panel, co-chaired by Commissioner Swarts and State Education Commissioner Richard Mills, to focus on improving driver education and increasing its availability. The panel reported its findings and recommendations to Governor Paterson and the Legislature on Dec. 31, 2008.

If signed into law, the departmental bill will align New York's GDL program with the recommendations of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). According to a 2008 NHTSA publication, junior drivers are twice as likely as adult drivers to be in a fatal crash. Sixteen-year-old drivers have crash rates that are about three times greater than 17-year-old drivers, five times greater than 18-year-old drivers and about twice the rate of 85-year-old drivers.

In New York State, 16 percent to 17 percent of all motor vehicle crashes from 2004 to 2006 involved drivers ages 16-20, and 15 percent to 18 percent of total fatalities occurred in crashes involving drivers in that age group. From 2004 to 2006, 10 percent to 11 percent of the drivers involved in crashes were ages 16-20, compared to 5 percent of all licensed drivers.

From 2004 to 2006, 32 percent of all fatalities occurred in crashes that involved drivers ages 16-24. In 2006, more than 200 young drivers in New York State died in automobile crashes, and more than 26,000 were injured. There also were 250 other fatalities and more than 41,000 injuries as a result of crashes involving young drivers. The annually cost to New York State from young driver crashes is estimated at $1.16 billion.

NHTSA has encouraged states to implement a GDL system to help transition young, inexperienced drivers onto public roadways and reduce crashes. The effectiveness of GDL programs in reducing teen crashes and deaths has been recognized by national organizations, including the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), the American Automobile Association (AAA), the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and traffic safety researchers.

Driver safety tips and information are available on DMV's web site (nysdmv.com) and the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee web site (safeny.com).

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