A staged route to a full licence
In the United States, teenage drivers do not usually move straight from a learner’s permit to a full licence. This article summarises the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) page on teenagers, which covers crash statistics, immaturity and inexperience, graduated licensing and the role of parents. Driver licensing in the United States is set state by state, so the rules for a learner in Texas differ from those in New Jersey, and the benchmarks below are IIHS’s assessment of best practice rather than a single national law. Figures such as crash numbers are those shown on the IIHS page when checked, including data for 2024. This article is general information, not legal advice.
The three stages (United States)
IIHS says graduated driver licensing (GDL) is designed to give beginning drivers experience behind the wheel in conditions that minimise risk. It has three stages: a supervised learner’s period, an intermediate licence granted after a road test that limits driving in high-risk situations such as at night or with teen passengers, and a licence with full privileges. GDL was introduced in New Zealand in 1987, and Florida was the first US state to adopt it, in 1996. IIHS says all US states and the District of Columbia now have graduated licensing, though the systems vary in strength. In most US jurisdictions the policies apply only to applicants younger than 18, and all states allow some exceptions so that novices can drive for specified purposes during restricted hours.
IIHS best-practice benchmarks (United States)
IIHS gives the current best practices as a minimum permit age of 16, at least 70 hours of supervised practice, a minimum intermediate licence age of 17, and, during the intermediate stage, a night driving restriction starting at 8 p.m. and a ban on all teen passengers.
What the research found (United States)
IIHS reports that a pair of national studies it carried out with the Highway Loss Data Institute found that strong restrictions on night driving and teenage passengers, as well as a delayed licensing age, reduce fatal crashes and insurance losses for teenage drivers. The same studies found that delaying the permit age reduces fatal crashes and that increasing practice hours reduces insurance losses. IIHS also says evaluations of graduated licensing systems in US states, Canadian provinces and Australia show they reduce crashes substantially.
IIHS notes that teenage crash deaths declined by 50 per cent between 1996, when the first three-stage US programme began, and 2024, from 5,819 to 2,899. That figure describes a trend over nearly three decades, and the evidence for the effect of GDL itself comes from the evaluations and studies described above.
Why teenagers are at higher risk (United States)
IIHS says teen drivers have crash rates more than four times those of drivers 20 and older per mile driven, based on police-reported crashes of all severities, and a fatal crash rate about three times as high for 16 to 19-year-olds. It attributes this to immaturity and inexperience, meaning risky habits such as speeding and difficulty recognising and responding to hazards. IIHS lists further characteristics of teen crashes:
- driver error is more frequent than in adults’ crashes;
- excessive speed is a factor in almost a third of teen drivers’ fatal crash involvements; and
- passengers increase the crash risk of teenage drivers, while decreasing it for drivers aged 30 and older.
Night driving matters as well. IIHS says 35 per cent of teen driving fatalities in 2024 occurred between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., and over half occurred between 6 p.m. and 3 a.m. Crash risk is particularly high during the first months of licensure.
New Jersey’s older licensing age (United States)
IIHS says New Jersey is the only US state that does not license until age 17. Studies confirm that the combined crash rate of 16 and 17-year-olds in New Jersey is far lower than in neighbouring states, and New Jersey applies full GDL policies to all new drivers under 21. IIHS says that raising the licensing age from 16 to 17 is associated with a 13 per cent lower fatal crash rate among 15 to 17-year-olds and a 9 per cent reduction in collision claim rates among 16-year-old licensed drivers.
The role of parents (United States)
IIHS says that even in states without strong laws, parents can enforce rules on the same principles as a model GDL law: requiring and supervising practice driving and, after licensing, restricting passengers and night driving. It says the quality of practice driving may be more important than the quantity, with teens benefiting from diverse situations under supervision. IIHS has developed a web-based skills checklist for parents of permit holders and new drivers.
Comparison with the UK
Great Britain has no equivalent staged system, as this site’s article on graduated driver licensing in Great Britain and Northern Ireland explains, and the New Drivers Act sets a two-year period for penalty points rather than restrictions on when or with whom new drivers may drive.
Common questions
Is graduated licensing national law in the United States? IIHS says all states and the District of Columbia have it, but the systems vary in strength, so the rules are state rules.
What does IIHS recommend for supervised hours? At least 70 hours of supervised practice, with a minimum permit age of 16.
Do passengers affect teen crash risk? IIHS says the presence of passengers increases crash risk among teenage drivers.
The bottom line
Every US state has graduated driver licensing, but strength varies, and IIHS’s best-practice benchmarks are a permit at 16 or older, at least 70 supervised hours, an intermediate licence from 17, a night restriction from 8 p.m. and no teen passengers at that stage. IIHS’s research links strong restrictions and later licensing ages to fewer fatal crashes, and it describes New Jersey’s age-17 licence and parental involvement as further safeguards.
Sources
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “Teenagers”