Although learning to drive is a rite of passage for American teenagers,
it also is a time filled with danger. Young people die in car crashes three
times more often than from firearms, the second most common cause of
death.1 Between 1995 and 2004, almost 31,000 people died in crashes
involving 15- to 17-year-old drivers, the majority of which were passengers,
occupants of other vehicles and pedestrians.

With almost 8,000 young drivers aged 15-20 involved in fatal collisions
during 2004, comprehensive graduated driver licensing (GDL)
systems are a good first step toward reducing the needless tragedies
taking place on America’s streets every day. Comprehensive GDL systems
can cut the involvement of 16-year-olds in fatal car crashes by up
to 20 percent.