UMTRI Project

Evaluation of Michigan

Sponsor: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Investigators: Jean T. Shope, C. Raymond Bingham
04/24/2000 - 09/30/2006

In 1997, Michigan became the first jurisdiction to enact a Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program requiring certification by a responsible adult that a new, young driver had received extended, supervised practice. In addition, the GDL program requires that new, young drivers not drive during the hours of midnight to 5:00 a.m. until the next level of licensure has been reached. The GDL program also contains a provisional licensing component that requires a young driver to maintain a conviction-free driving record for a specified period of time before graduating to the next level of licensure. Collectively, these requirements are intended to address both inexperience and deliberate risk taking on the part of young beginning drivers, two factors that contribute to the elevated crash risk among young people. This study continues a multiyear evaluation of the impact of Michigans GDL program on young beginning drivers through examination of crash rates before and after program implementation. Outcomes of interest include rates of drivers involved in total crashes as well as fatal, injury, single-vehicle, nighttime, and alcohol-involved crashes. Initial analyses involved examination of police-reported crash data for 16-year-olds in 1996, 1998, and 1999, one full year before and two full years into the implementation of GDL. Subsequent analyses have examined crash data from the years 2000 and 2001. A parent-teen contract used in Washtenaw County was evaluated. The Checkpoints program, developed at NICHD, is being tested in driver education for its efficacy in enhancing restrictions parents place on new teen drivers.