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Reforming New Jersey's Automobile Insurance System: Five Years Later

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The statistics are clear. The young and inexperienced driving populations are over represented in crash statistics and fatalities. In New Jersey, teenagers make up six percent of the driving population and are involved in an alarming 11 percent of the fatal accidents. Teenagers aged 16 and 17 have twice the average number of crashes in their first year of driving as do experienced adult drivers.

According to the National Association of Independent Insurers, highway safety experts studying this problem attribute the loss of our nation's young drivers to four major factors: general inexperience and lack of adequate driving skills; excessive driving during high risk times, especially nighttime; risk taking, and poor driving judgment and decision making.

Considering the above, it is not surprising that automobile accidents are the number one killer of teenagers today. The frightening figures prompted New Jersey lawmakers to re-evaluate the state's licensing procedures for new drivers and enacted a system to ease new drivers into the driving environment through more controlled exposure to progressively more difficult driving experiences.

The days of obtaining a learner's permit, then waiting 20 days before taking the requisite tests have come to an end in New Jersey. On January 1, 2001, the state's new Graduated Drivers License (GDL) system went into effect. GDL is a three-step process, which allows young drivers, as well as all first-time drivers, the opportunity to gain experience and maturity while limiting their exposure to risky situations. It is a system to phase in beginners to full driving privileges as they mature and develop their driving skills. GDL provides new drivers with more driving experience before obtaining a driver's license.

Until the enactment of the new law, a person could apply for a learner's permit at age 16, provided he or she had taken a behind the wheel driving education course. In addition, permit holders had to be accompanied by a driver over age 21 when driving and could not drive between the hours of 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. On or after a teen's 17th birthday, he/she was eligible for his/her driver's license, given successful completion of a road test.

In addition, all new drivers in New Jersey went through a two-year probation period after becoming a licensed driver in the state. If a new driver received two violations totaling four points, the driver was mandated to participate in a driver training class.

Research has shown that a driver's likelihood of having an accident decreases with driving experience. Graduated licensing is a system that is intended to improve the skills and driving habits of new drivers and allow them to demonstrate responsible behavior behind the wheel. A graduated licensing system gives new drivers the opportunity to practice driving under the supervision of an experienced driver and then time to drive alone under specific restrictive conditions.

New Jersey has established a three-tier process that would add an extra step between getting a learner's permit and becoming fully licensed. During the first step, the permit phase, new drivers, who must be at least 16 years of age, learn and practice driving (under the supervision of a New Jersey licensed driver, 21 or older who has been licensed for at least three years) under conditions that reduce the risk of a crash. The permit phase includes nighttime driving and passenger restrictions. Teen and new drivers cannot drive between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and allows as passengers, in addition to the required 21 year old driver, only persons who reside with the permit holder and one additional person who does not reside with the permit holder. Additionally, everyone in the vehicle must wear a seat belt.

After six months of supervised driving (three months for new drivers 21 and older), and the successful completion of vision, written and road tests, the new driver, who must be at least 17 years of age, is eligible for a provisional license. The focus at this stage is on granting more privileges. The new driver is permitted to drive without supervision, but the nighttime driving and passenger restrictions remain in effect. The provisional license prohibits driving from 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. and allows only one additional passenger, who does not reside with the permit holder, in addition to persons who share the permit holder's residence. However, this restriction does not apply when at least one passenger is over the age of 21. The law provides that drivers with provisional licenses may drive between midnight and 5 a.m. if they need to get to or from work or a religious activity during those hours.

After successfully completing the provisional license stage, which includes not having more than two motor vehicle points or being convicted of a serious violation, the novice driver, who must be at least 18 years of age, is eligible for a full, unrestricted or basic license.

Graduated licensing is a step that sends a powerful message to young and inexperienced drivers. It alone will not reduce the number of teenage driving fatalities and serious highway crashes, but it will teach new drivers that driving is a major responsibility that requires training, responsibility and maturity.