A significant number of parents are unaware of Tennessee's Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) guidelines, according to a study commissioned by the Tennessee Department of Health. The survey showed 14 percent of parents who currently have teen drivers or have parented teen drivers in the last five years were unaware of the law. Tennessee's current GDL law includes restrictions on passengers, cell phone use and driving at night and includes required practice driving time prior to moving to the next phase.
A separate component of the study asked law enforcement across the state what the most frequent GDL violations are. They include: "Graduated Driver License programs are responsible for decreasing fatal and injury crashes among teen drivers, but parental involvement is key in keeping teen drivers safe," said Stephanie Milani, Tennessee Public Affairs Specialist, AAA - The Auto Club Group.
- Cell phone use: The GDL law prohibits cell phones while driving. This includes texting or hands-free cell phone use.
- Passenger limitations: A driver in the intermediate restricted phase is limited to one passenger in the car. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety research shows that a 16- or 17-year old driver's fatality risk doubles when carrying two passengers younger than 21 and quadruples when carrying three or more passengers younger than 21.
- Nighttime restrictions: During the Learner Permit stage no driving is allowed between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. At the Intermediate Restricted stage the hours to go 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
"One way to make sure teens and parents have the same expectations for learning to drive is by talking through the process, including the consequences of not following the rules, before the teen gets behind the wheel," said Milani. "One effective tool to help keep teens safe is a parent-teen driving agreement to detail driving privileges, rules and consequences."
Information on Tennessee's GDL law, tips for parents and teens, a downloadable parent-teen driving agreement and more can be found at www.teendriving.aaa.com.
