Advocates has sent a letter to leaders of the North Carolina House Committee on Judiciary 1, along with partners Kids and Car Safety and Safe Kids Worldwide opposing House Bill (HB) 584. This measure will eliminate supervised driving requirements for limited learner’s permits and limited provisional license holders. It also will reduce the holding period for a limited learner’s permit to six months until December 31, 2025. These changes will weaken the graduated driver licensing (GDL) law and threaten the safety of novice teen drivers and all who share the roads with them.
While a few additional months of supervised driving may seem inconsequential, the data shows it is not. Extra time gaining driving experience in lower risk settings makes a big difference in safety. A minimum learner’s permit holding period of five to six months reduces fatal crash rates by 9 percent; however, extending the holding period to nine months to a year results in a 21 percent reduction.
Based on research, the IIHS has identified the current best practices in the U.S. for novice drivers to include a minimum permit age of 16 and a minimum intermediate license age of 17. Delaying the minimum age for obtaining a learner’s permit was associated with lower fatal crash rates for 15- to 17-year-olds combined, and a one-year delay (e.g., from age 15 to 16) reduced the fatal crash rate by 13 percent.
Read the full letter here.