1. Steve Bloch Auto Club of Southern California
Preparing Your Teen to Drive: What California Teens and Parents Need to Know
Steve Bloch
Auto Club of Southern California

2. Overview What’s the problem? – Why do they
make getting your license so hard?
(Why not just give me the license?)
Addressing the problem:
“Graduated driver licensing”
Before you begin: What parents (and teens) need to know
(What you put in is what you get back.)

3. What’s the Problem?

4. What’s the Problem? What’s the Problem?
Teens die too often in motor vehicle crashes – as drivers and passengers
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens (>1/3 of all deaths of year-olds)
In fact, car crashes kill more year-olds than the next 5 leading causes of death combined
(homicides, suicides, drowning, poisonings, cancer, heart disease) (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety)
In California, more than 15,000 teen drivers ages are killed or injured every year

5. What’s the Problem? Drivers in Fatal Crashes per 100,000 Licensed Drivers U.S., 2006

6. Crash Involvement by Driver Age (US, per million miles driven).
Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

8. What’s the Problem? What’s the Problem?
Nighttime driving - A teen’s risk of crashing doubles between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
Teen passengers - Crash risks for teen drivers skyrocket when passengers are in the car. (Crash risk does not increase for older, more experienced drivers with passengers.)
With 1 passenger, the crash risk for teen drivers doubles
With 3+ passengers, the crash risk for teen drivers quadruples
In California, more than 11,000 teen passengers ages are killed or injured every year.

9. What’s the Problem?
About 1/3 of people killed in teen crashes are passengers in a teen driver’s vehicle
About 1/3 are pedestrians, bicyclists or persons in another vehicle

10. What’s the Problem? Distracted Driving:
Using cell phones and other electronic
devices:
Teens use electronic devices more than other drivers
Young drivers are more distracted than older, more
experienced drivers by the use of electronic devices

11. What’s the Problem?
Teen drivers lack experience and awareness of risks that older, more experienced drivers are aware of.
As a result:
About 10%-20% of teen drivers will be in a crash during their first year
2/3 of teens licensed at age 16 will get a traffic citation before turning 18
During their first 1000 miles, teen crash rates are even worse – 3X worse

12. What’s the Problem?
Teen drivers lack experience and awareness of risks that older, more experienced drivers are aware of.
As a result:
Younger drivers are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as speeding and tailgating. But, lacking experience, they’re least able to cope
Two leading causes of crashes for this age group are unsafe speed (#1) and tailgating (#7)
Failure to buckle up is higher among teens and contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety-related behavior
Studies regularly show that teens talk on cell phones and send and receive text messages at higher rates than other drivers
46% of teens admitted to texting while driving in a AAA survey

13. What’s the Problem? What’s the Problem?
Driving a car is exciting for new, young drivers. Unfortunately, it involves more responsibility and risk than they’re likely to have had before.
Teens generally don’t know that a first time arrest for drinking and driving can cost a California teen and his or her family over $17,000 in fines, fees, insurance increases, and lawyers fees.
And those costs don’t even include car repairs or medical costs if there’s a crash or time lost from work or school.

14. Graduated Driver Licensing
Addressing the Problem:
Graduated Driver Licensing
(GDL)

15. Graduated Driver Licensing
Addressing the Problem:
Graduated Driver Licensing
What is graduated driver licensing?
A driver licensing system that eases teens into driving by placing them, at first, in lower-risk, less difficult driving situations and then relaxing their driving restrictions over time.

16. Graduated Driver Licensing
Addressing the Problem:
Graduated Driver Licensing
GDL deals with the dangers of:
Late night driving – limiting novice teen driving during late night hours
Teen passengers – limiting the number that novice drivers can carry
Driver distractions – limiting use of cell phones and other electronic devices
Lack of experience – requiring teens to pass through several stages of licensing, each lasting 6-12 months

17. Graduated Driver Licensing
Addressing the Problem:
Graduated Driver Licensing
The 3 stages of California’s graduated driver licensing system:
Stage 1 - Learner’s permit (age 15½)
Stage 2 – Intermediate, probationary license (age 16)
Stage 3 – Full, unrestricted license (age 17 or 18)

18. Graduated Driver Licensing
Addressing the Problem:
Graduated Driver Licensing
Stage 1 – Getting a Learner’s Permit
Be at least 15½ years of age, but under 18
Complete driver’s education and driver training
(or complete driver education and be enrolled in driver training, or
be enrolled in an integrated driver education and training program)
Pass the DMV traffic law, road sign, and vision tests
Pay aplication fee ($27) and get parents’ signatures

19. Graduated Driver Licensing
Addressing the Problem:
Graduated Driver Licensing
Stage 2 – Getting an intermediate, probationary
License
Hold the learner’s permit for 6 months
Be at least age 16, but less than 18
Complete both driver education and training
Complete at least 50 hours of supervised driving,
including at least 10 hours at night

20. Graduated Driver Licensing
Addressing the Problem:
Graduated Driver Licensing
Stage 2 – Intermediate, Probationary License
For the first year (or until age 18), no unsupervised driving late at night (11pm - 5am)
For the first year (or until age 18), no unsupervised driving with passengers under age 20
Until age 18, no use of cell phones including hands-free or other electronic devices
No drinking and driving.
California has a Zero Tolerance law for drivers under 21 – No alcohol in your blood

21. Graduated Driver Licensing
Addressing the Problem:
Graduated Driver Licensing
Stage 3 – Full, Unrestricted License
Be at least 18 years of age
Have no outstanding DMV or court restrictions, suspensions or probation

22. Graduated Driver Licensing
Addressing the Problem:
Graduated Driver Licensing
Graduated Driver Licensing Works
States with GDL see up to a 38% reduction in fatal crash rates and up to a 40% reduction in injury crash rates for new teen drivers.

23. Before You Begin:
What Parents and Teens
Need To Know

24. What’s important to teens?
What Parents and Teens
Need To Know
What’s important to teens?
Looking and feeling good in your
new car…
Speed
Sports car, SUV, or a
vintage ride
Powerful sound system

25. What’s important to parents?
What Parents and Teens
Need To Know
What’s important to parents?
Cost
Reliability
Safety

26. It’s time to talk about…
What Parents and Teens
Need To Know
It’s time to talk about…
Who’s responsible for…
making car payments?
paying for gas?
adhering to maintenance
schedule and paying for repairs?
paying for registration?
paying for insurance?
fines or penalties

27. It’s time to talk about…
What Parents and Teens
Need To Know
It’s time to talk about…
Driving privileges, responsibilities and
consequences for violations
Nighttime driving restriction
Permitted driving hours — Be specific
Passengers
Seat belt use
Other driving restrictions
Driving while fatigued, distracted,
intoxicated, or emotional
Peer pressure

28. What Parents and Teens Need To Know Parents: Use contracts
Stay involved, it reduces teen risk!
Don’t be afraid to seek outside driver training
Lead by example – model good behavior
Some philosophies don’t work well:
“Take my advice, son, I’m not using it”

29. Questions?

30. Pre-test (T/F) Once you earn your license, you own it FALSE
Drugs and alcohol are the leading cause of teen deaths
2/3 of people killed in teen caused crashes are not teens
TRUE
20,000 people died in car crashes in the US last year
Alcohol is the number one cause of teen crashes
Parents need GDL laws to manage their teen’s
learning-to-drive process

31. What’s the Problem? What’s the Problem? Cost to society
Among teen drivers ages 15-17, motor vehicle crashes cost US society more than $34 billion
– including things like lost work, medical expenses, property damage, quality of life lost, and police and paramedics costs .
That works out to about $4 billion in California.