Tougher Licensing Laws Would Save Lives

Dan McGehee, Director of the Human Factors and Vehicle Safety research program, was invited by the Des Moines Register to comment on a study released by the Allstate Foundation that looks at teen driver licensing laws in Iowa. The study found that stricter regulations could have saved 32 young lives and $200 million in 2009. In the article Study Shows Risk to Young Drivers, McGehee notes that while teen driving deaths are falling nationally, they have remained flat or slightly increased in Iowa. The state is one of only six in the country that allow drivers as young as 14 to obtain learner's permits. Also, Iowa's restrictions on the number of teen passengers allowed to ride with teen drivers are weak. Research shows that restricting the number of teen passengers to one or zero reduces risk dramatically. A 2009 survey of 1,065 parents of teen drivers in Iowa, conducted by McGehee and PPC Human Factors team, revealed that 79% were in favor of limiting the number of non-family teen passengers, while 82% were for a 10 pm curfew for novice drivers.