Stricter license laws cut deaths for 16-year-olds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Laws that set numerous strict conditions before teenagers can get a license can reduce fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers by up to 21 percent, public health researchers say.

The more restrictions imposed, the greater the reduction.

Examples include a waiting period before a young driver is eligible to move from a learner's permit to an intermediate license, restrictions on driving at night, required hours of supervision by an adult driver and limits on the number of passengers a teenage driver can have.

States with such restrictions as part of strong graduated driver's licensing programs showed declines in fatal crashes involving 16-year-olds, according to a study being released Monday by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers. Federal figures show that 16-year-old drivers were involved in 957 fatal crashes that killed 1,111 people in 2004. Those crashes resulted in the deaths of 399 16-year-old drivers and 385 16-year-old passengers.