Graduated Driver Licensing Night Driving Restrictions and Drivers Aged 16 or 17 Years Involved in Fatal Night Crashes — United States, 2009–2014

Ruth A. Shults, PhD¹; Allan F. Williams, PhD² (View author affiliations)

Fatal crash risk is higher at night for all drivers, but especially for young, inexperienced drivers (1). To help address the increased crash risk for beginner teen drivers, 49 states and the District of Columbia include a night driving restriction (NDR) in their Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system. NDRs have been shown to reduce crashes among newly licensed teens, with higher reductions associated with NDRs starting at 10:00 p.m. or earlier (2–3). However, in 23 states and the District of Columbia, NDRs begin at 12:00 a.m. or later, times when most teen drivers subject to GDL are not driving. CDC analyzed 2009–2014 national and state-level data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) to determine the proportion of drivers aged 16 or 17 years involved in fatal crashes who crashed at night (9:00 p.m.–5:59 a.m.) and the proportion of these drivers who crashed before 12:00 a.m. Nationwide, among 6,104 drivers aged 16 or 17 years involved in fatal crashes during 2009–2014, 1,865 (31%) were involved in night crashes. Among drivers involved in night crashes, 1,054 (57%) crashed before 12:00 a.m. State-level analyses revealed an approximately twofold variation among states in both the proportions of drivers aged 16 or 17 years involved in fatal crashes that occurred at night and the proportions of night fatal crash involvements that occurred before 12:00 a.m. Because nearly all of the night driving trips taken by drivers aged 16 or 17 years end before 12:00 a.m., NDRs beginning at 12:00 a.m. or later provide minimal protection. States could consider updating their NDR coverage to include earlier nighttime hours. This descriptive report summarizes the characteristics of NDRs, estimates the extent to which drivers aged 16 or 17 years drive at night, and describes their involvement in fatal nighttime crashes during 2009–2014. The effects of NDRs on crashes were not evaluated because of the small state-level sample sizes during the 6-year study period.

NDRs are applied when teen drivers receive their GDL provisional license, which permits driving without an adult supervisor in the vehicle under prescribed conditions. NDRs specify the nighttime hours that a teen holding a GDL provisional license may not drive without an adult supervisor. As of January 2012, the District of Columbia and every state except Vermont had an NDR as a cornerstone of their GDL system.* GDL is designed to help young beginner drivers gain experience under lower-risk conditions. Two national evaluations conducted during 1986–2007 and 1996–2007 indicated that NDRs reduced crashes among newly licensed teens, with higher reductions associated with NDRs starting at 10:00 p.m. or earlier (2–3). However, in 23 states and the District of Columbia, NDRs begin at 12:00 a.m. or later (Figure).

NDRs also vary in terms of the ages covered. The NDR remains in effect until either the driver reaches a designated age (e.g., 18 years, 0 months), until the provisional license has been held for a specified period (e.g., 6 or 12 months), or some combination of age and time since licensure (e.g., 6 months or aged 18 years, whichever comes first). In 15 states and the District of Columbia, graduation from the NDR is not possible until age 18 years. In the remaining 34 states with an NDR, graduation is possible before age 18 years.

For this study, the ages and hours covered by NDRs were obtained from the compendium of GDL laws maintained by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. National estimates of the proportion of trips taken by drivers aged 16 or 17 years by time of day were obtained from the 2009 National Highway Travel Survey (NHTS), the most recent survey.^† Fatality data were obtained from FARS, a census of fatal traffic crashes maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. FARS defines a fatal crash as one in which at least one vehicle occupant or nonoccupant (e.g., bicyclist or pedestrian) involved in a crash died within 30 days of the crash. Analyses were restricted to drivers of passenger vehicles (i.e., automobiles, sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and vans) aged 16 or 17 years. Records of 30 drivers were excluded because the time of the crash was unknown.

National and state-level FARS data from 2009–2014 were examined to determine the proportion of all drivers aged 16 or 17 years involved in fatal crashes (fatal crash involvement) that occurred at night (9:00 p.m.–5:59 a.m.) and the proportion of these drivers who crashed before 12:00 a.m. For the state-level analysis, six states that licensed drivers before age 16 years (Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota) were excluded because drivers could typically graduate from the NDR at age 16 years. Vermont, which does not have an NDR, also was excluded. State-level results were included for the states with ≥20 drivers in fatal crashes (N = 40) and ≥20 drivers in fatal night crashes (N = 30), respectively.

Nationwide, 1,865 (31%) of the 6,104 drivers aged 16 or 17 years involved in fatal crashes during 2009–2014 were involved in night crashes (27% of drivers aged 16 years and 33% of drivers aged 17 years). Among drivers involved in night crashes, 1,054 (57%) crashed before 12:00 a.m. (60% of drivers aged 16 years and 55% of drivers aged 17 years). According to the 2009 NHTS data, drivers aged 16 or 17 years took an estimated 3.4 billion trips, with 10% ending during 9:00 p.m.–11:59 p.m. and 0.8% ending during 12:00 a.m.–5:59 a.m.; 93% of night trips ended before 12:00 a.m. (Table 1).

Among the 40 included states, 20 had NDRs that began at 12:00 a.m. or later as of December 31, 2014 (Table 2). Seven states either implemented an NDR or updated their NDR early in the 6-year study period (Table 2). Five NDRs had mixed starting times, depending on day of week, month, age, or length of time a license had been held; details are available at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website (http://www.iihs.org). In 13 states, the youngest exit age was 18 years, and in the 27 remaining NDRs, exit ages ranged from 16 years, 6 months to 17 years, 11 months.

Across the 40 included states, the proportion of drivers aged 16 or 17 years involved in fatal crashes that occurred at night varied from 19% in Kentucky to 44% in New Hampshire (median = 31%) (Table 3). The proportion of drivers aged 16 or 17 years involved in night fatal crashes that occurred before 12:00 a.m. varied from 35% in Washington to 78% in Indiana (median = 56%) across the 30 included states.

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Acknowledgments

Tonja Lindsey, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Corresponding author: Ruth A. Shults, rshults@cdc.gov, 770-488-4638.

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¹Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC; ²Allan F. Williams, Bethesda, Maryland.

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References

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FIGURE. Graduated driver licensing night driving restriction starting hours* — United States,^† 2016

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/laws/graduatedlicenseintro/mapyoungnighttimerestrictions?topicName=teenagers#map).

* Night driving restriction starting hours varied by day of the week for the District of Columbia, Illinois, and Mississippi; weekend starting hours are presented.

^† Long Island does not allow teens with a New York provisional license (junior license) to drive unaccompanied, so there is no need for a night driving restriction.

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TABLE 1. Estimated annual number and proportion of trips taken by drivers aged 16 or 17 years, by time of day — United States, 2009

Source: National Household Travel Survey. http://nhts.ornl.gov.
* Some numbers and proportions do not add to their totals because of rounding.

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TABLE 2. Distribution of characteristics of graduated driver licensing night driving restrictions — 40 states,* 2014

* Alaska, District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Rhode Island were excluded because they had <20 drivers aged 16 or 17 years involved in fatal crashes during 2009–2014; Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota were excluded because they permit licensure before age 16 years; Vermont was excluded because it did not have a night driving restriction.
^† Arkansas introduced a night driving restriction on July 30, 2009; Kansas introduced a night driving restriction on January 1, 2010; Indiana modified the start times from 11:00 p.m./1:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m./11:00 p.m. effective July 1, 2009; Oklahoma modified the start time from 11:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. effective November 11, 2009; West Virginia modified the start time from 11:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. effective July 1, 2009; Michigan modified the start time from 12:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. effective March 30, 2011; New Jersey modified the start time from 12:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. effective May 1, 2010.
^§ Five states had varying starting hours depending on day of the week (Illinois, Mississippi; weekend hours are presented), driver age (Florida), or length of time the driver has been licensed (Indiana, Ohio).

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TABLE 3. Night driving restrictions, the proportion of all drivers aged 16 or 17 years involved in fatal crashes that occur at night (9:00 p.m.–5:59 a.m.), and the proportion of drivers aged 16 or 17 years involved in night fatal crashes that occur before 12:00 a.m. — 40 states,* 2009–2014

* Alaska, District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Rhode Island were excluded because they had <20 drivers aged 16 or 17 years involved in fatal crashes during 2009–2014; Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota were excluded because they permit licensure before age 16 years; Vermont was excluded because it did not have a night driving restriction.
^† Thirty records were excluded because the time of crash was unknown.
^§ Numbers and proportions suppressed because night crashes <20.
** Five states had varying starting hours depending on day of the week (Illinois, Mississippi), driver age (Florida), or length of time the driver has been licensed (Indiana and Ohio).

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