Too many young drivers in Orlando and throughout Florida are involved in tragic car accidents. In 2005, 457 people ages 16 to 20 died on Florida highways, compared to 371 the year before, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. As Orlando car accident lawyers we must report that Florida’s licensing requirements received only a “fair” ranking from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety this year.
Twenty-nine states ranked higher than Florida with a “good” rating while 10 others were listed below as marginal. It is apparent that tougher state laws establishing more restrictions when young drivers can get their license and limitations on who they ride with may help save lives on Florida’s roads.
The Insurance Institute who performed the ranking looked at when teens can get their learner’s permit, how long teens must hold the permit, how many hours of practice driving is required and other restrictions such as on night driving or types of passengers.
The Institute found that the best state systems established 16 as theminimum age for a learner’s permit; required drivers to have the permit for at least six months; required parents to certify 30 to 50 hours of supervised driving; and set an “intermediate” stage when motorists can drive with restrictions until they turned 18. Those rules restricted night driving starting at 9 or 10 p.m. and allowed no more than one teenage passenger in a vehicle.
Florida allows drivers to first get a permit at 15; requires drivers keep the learner’s permit for 12 months and have 50 hours of supervised driving with 10 of those hours at night; and prohibits driving during certain hours for 16- and 17-year-old drivers. For example, 16-year-old drivers are prohibited from driving between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless they are accompanied by a driver 21 or older or are on their way to work.There are no restrictions on the number of teenage passengers.
According to a study released last year from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore states with stricter restrictions and a graduated licensing program that eases young drivers into learning how to handle dangerous road situations do show a decline in fatal crashes involving 16-year-olds. While important to consider the licensing scheme, it is also critical that parents must enforce existing laws and monitor their children’s driving habits. This should include insisting that young drivers focus on driving and avoid distractions. If young drivers have friends in the car, use cell phones or iPods, the risk of accidents will only increase.
