Special Licensing Laws for Teenage and Senior Drivers Favored by Most Americans

MALVERN, Pa. – The majority of respondents to the Insurance Research Council's (IRC) most recent survey of a cross-section of Americans favor initiatives aimed at reducing auto accidents involving the youngest and oldest drivers. Even younger and older respondents favor many of these initiatives, which in some cases can restrict their driving privileges.

Concerning licensing laws for younger drivers, 73 percent of all respondents, and 54 percent of those 18 to 24 years old, support the enactment of graduated licensing laws that require young drivers to earn driving privileges in stages if they remain free of violations and accidents. Other provisions for younger drivers that are favored by a majority of adults are supervised driving requirements, a minimum age requirement to obtain a learner's permit, night driving restrictions, and teen passenger restrictions. Strong support was also found for legislation that requires new drivers to complete a test that measures knowledge and driving ability before they can earn full driving privileges.

Concerning licensing laws for older drivers, nine out of ten respondents and 86 percent of older respondents favor laws requiring drivers age 70 and older to take vision tests at license renewal. Other provisions for license-renewing drivers age 70 and older favored by most adults include in-person license renewal, mandatory license renewal every two years, road tests, and physician certification.

"Driving safely is a concern for Americans of all age groups," according to Elizabeth Sprinkel, senior vice president of the IRC, "and many are in favor of new safety measures, even when their own privileges may be affected."

The results contained in IRC’s recently released report, Public Attitude Monitor 2001, Issue 1, are based on a survey conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide. The survey consisted of telephone interviews with 1,017 men and women 18 years old and older conducted in May and June 2001. Survey participants were selected to be representative of the population of the continental United States. The survey also addressed other highway safety issues such as motorcycle helmet laws, drinking and driving, the enforcement of speed limits, and red light cameras.