Last week, advocates for teen drivers all over the country met at the Capitol to fight for tougher laws that governs teen drivers and the licensing system. The group was petitioning for the STANDUP act or the Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection act. This act aims to push for new tougher regulations ensuring the safety of teen drivers and set high standard on the implementation of state graduated licensing system.
The group emphasized that if laws for teen drivers are stricter, it could keep teens safe from dangerous roads and most importantly save more teen lives. This can keep them from perilous circumstances on the road until they are responsible and mature enough and have much experience to be on their own. They also push for more teen driving programs that can help teens to be skilled drivers as well as help their families avail of less expensive auto insurance.
Parents are also encouraging these advocates in their goal like Bill Walter whose son was taken by a car accident in 1999. Walter said to CNN that firmer laws on teen driving can help parents and their children in imposing safety on the road. He said that parents will no longer be the antagonist during their safety driving talks with their children since it is already implemented in law.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, states that accommodate the goals and visions of the STANDUP act will receive rewards. The state will be receiving $500,000 to $1 million worth of grant from the Department of Transportation annually for three years Atlanta Journal Constitution said. From all the states in the country, only Delaware complies with the proposals of the STANDUP act. Among the proposed laws would be a requisite of 30 to 50 hours of driving that involves an adult as an overseer and necessitate a waiting period of six months for unrestricted teen driver’s license.
Data from the IIHS or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that delaying licenses for teenagers ages 15 to 17 reduces the rate of deadly accidents and decrease the rate of crash claims in auto insurance companies. As teen drivers advocates emphasize, stricter laws can actually help in the reduction of fatal teen deaths cause by car accidents. As a start, there should be a higher standard on the basis of approving applications for teen driver’s licenses. Also, if statistics show that teens are not that risky on the road as a result of these laws, the availability of cheap car insurance will rise.
