'Dangerous' New Findings on PA Teen Drivers

A new survey released by Allstate Insurance calls what young Pennsylvania drivers and their parents do not know about the state's new teen driving laws "dangerous."

According to the survey, only 56% of teens, 36% of parents are confident in their knowledge of Pennsylvania's new Graduated Driver's License law.

The law requires a lot more hours of practice behind the wheel with an experienced driver (over 21) in the car, restricts driving hours to 5 a.m.-11 p.m. and requires 15 hours of practice driving in night and dangerous (rain, snow) conditions before a teenager can even get a junior (under age 18)  Pennsylvania driver's license.

Among the key findings in the report:

• Only 38% of parents and only 15% of teens say young teen drivers generally comply with GDL laws.

• Nearly half (46%) of all Pennsylvania teens say they’ve broken at least one GDL law… but only 19% of parents are aware of these infractions.

• The most common response teens gave for breaking GDL laws was “had an emergency” (39%).

• 56 percent of teens claimed to be confident in their knowledge of Pennsylvania’s GDL laws; only 36 percent of parents reported the same confidence.

• The majority of teens and parents were aware of three out of the four the basic components of the law (supervised driving hours, passenger limits and nighttime restrictions), but only about half were aware of the mandatory holding period.

• When asked about the specifics of the four components, only 17% of parents and 10% of teens could identify the correct restrictions.

Click here to see how Pennsylvania's laws governing teenage drivers compare with other states.

Here are the details of the new survey results as reported in a news release sent to Patch by Allstate Insurance:

Allstate findings indicate only 56% of teens, 36% of parents confident on GDL knowledge.

The survey, which was conducted by TRU, a leading youth research and insights firm, was launched to mark the one-year anniversary of Pennsylvania’s strengthened Graduated Driver Licensing laws. The revised components, which went into effect December 27, 2011, include:

• 65 hours of supervised driving hours before licensure (including 10 hours of night driving and five hours of inclement weather driving;
• Passenger limits for junior license holders with the exception of family members;
• A curfew for junior license holders between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.;
• And a mandatory six-month holding period following one’s 16th birthday before eligibility to apply for a driver’s license.

Key Findings

Several responses among teens and parents alike support the need for both groups – but especially parents – to develop deeper knowledge of Pennsylvania’s GDL laws:

• 56 percent of teens claimed to be confident in their knowledge of Pennsylvania’s GDL laws; only 36 percent of parents reported the same confidence.
• The majority of teens and parents were aware of three out of the four the basic components of the law (supervised driving hours, passenger limits and nighttime restrictions), but only about half were aware of the mandatory holding period.
• When asked about the specifics of the four components, only 17% of parents and 10% of teens could identify the correct restrictions.

“We know that Pennsylvania parents and teens don’t want to put themselves, their passengers or other motorists at risk,” said Allstate Insurance spokesperson Chris Conner. “But we also know that teens are our youngest, most inexperienced drivers. We hope these survey results serve as a call to action to parents to learn and enforce the state’s GDL laws.”

To learn more about Pennsylvania’s GDL laws, please visit the Pennsylvania Teen Safe Driving Coalition homepage. For more general information on GDL and teen driving safety, please visit the Allstate Foundation Teen Driving homepage.

Methodology

TRU conducted a total of 401 online interviews among teens ages 16-18 and parents of teens ages 16-18, yielding a margin of error of +4.9 percentage points. Interviews were conducted from October 13th through October 30th, 2012. Screening criteria was enforced to ensure that all teens/teens of parents surveyed intended to acquire their learner’s permit, junior driver’s license, or driver’s license prior to their 18th birthday.