By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

A group of boys hit the road for home after classes at West High School. Teen boys face higher insurance rates due to their inexperience. (Nathan Duke Photo)

Experience has been described as an unfair teacher because it gives the tests first and the lessons afterward. But with mountains of data showing the costly, and often deadly, effects of inexperienced teenage drivers, states nationwide are trying to change that model.

By spending more money on preparation and education of teen drivers - thus increasing experience - many states are hoping to save lives.

In the past few years, New Hampshire has begun adding requirements to comply with the graduated driver's license (GDL) program, a three-phase program aimed at giving teenage drivers more experience before they obtain full driving privileges.

The phases of the program are a supervised learner's period, an intermediate license allowing unsupervised driving depending on various situations and a full privileges license.

Last month, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Sen. John Warner, R-Va., introduced the Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act of 2005. The bill would provide incentive grants to states that implement GDL programs.

Many states have responded favorably to the idea of requiring more preparation for teens hoping to hit the roads, perhaps due to numerous recent studies that have shown the dangers of inexperience on the roadways.

In fact, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among the nation's 15- to 20- year-olds. In 2003, the Department of Transportation reported 3,657 motor vehicle-related deaths for the group. The number of teenage deaths is approximately three times higher than any other age group, considering the relative population.

According to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), teenage drivers account for the smallest age group on the roads, yet they are involved in the highest number of traffic accidents. In 2003, there were approximately 9.5 million teenage drivers, and the group was involved in nearly 4.5 million car crashes.

NHTSA studies have shown that teenagers talk on cellular telephones more often while driving than does any other age group - 8 percent of teens had a phone held to their ear during the study.

Studies have also shown that teenagers are more likely to speed, and when they do, it's at faster speeds than other age groups.

A study by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety shows that teenagers are least accepting age group when it comes to wearing seat belts, with only 42 percent of males and 52 percent of females buckling up nationally.

While all of these studies arguably account for the disproportionate number of teenage car accidents to some degree, they eventually seem to all demonstrate the inexperience and/or immaturity of teen drivers.

"I don't think a lot of young people realize what their vehicle can do," said Candia Police Chief Michael McGillen. "They don't think of it as a weapon or something that can seriously hurt somebody."

McGillen said his department has made some recent arrests of teen drivers for incidents including driving under the influence of alcohol and driving negligently.

He said one speeding teen, shortly after getting a license, recently drove off the road after losing control of the car.

"A good number of accidents have been from younger people," he said. McGillen added that more male teenagers have been involved in accidents recently than female teenagers, though a NHTSA study shown that young female drivers are quickly bridging this gap.

McGillen said his department isn't "specifically targeting" teens on the roads, but said the inexperience of many young drivers is obvious.

High cost of driving
Like police officers, insurance companies are aware of the pitfalls associated with teenage driving. This awareness, as any parent of a teen driver can likely attest, is reflected in insurance rates.

An Internet search for rate quotes showed that 16-year-olds buying their own insurance can be charged rates up to eight times higher than middle-aged males living in the same neighborhood and driving the same car.

Young male drivers are also apt to pay higher insurance prices than young female drivers, with rates being as high as $5,000 a year.

"The biggest factor for the difference in rates is experience," said Ed Ibanez, a Manchester based State Farm agent. Ibanez added that teenagers are four times more likely to get in car accidents than are other age groups, and when they do get in accidents, the percentage of fatalities is higher.

Ibanez said rates for teenage drivers can depend on a number of variables including gender, a student's grade-point average, whether or not the young driver is part of a family insurance plan and what types of trips the insured driver is taking in the vehicle. But Ibanez repeatedly stressed that a lack of experience is the overwhelming consideration for insurance companies.

In New Hampshire, teenage drivers hoping to get their first driver's license aren't required as much preparatory experience as teens in many other states. Sixteen-year-olds can apply for a youth operator license if they have passed a stateapproved driver education course. Requirements of the course are 30 hours of classroom learning, 10 hours of driving with a certified instructor, and six hours of observing another driver. Driving students must also log an additional 20 hours of drive time under the supervision of a parent, legal guardian or other licensed adult over the age of 25.

Students must also pass a three-part driver test - an eyesight screening, a written or oral knowledge test, and a road test - and provide a certificate of authorization from a parent or legal guardian.

For 90 days after issuance of the license, the driver is required to be accompanied by a licensed adult, at least 25 years old. In most states, this transitional period lasts six months or more, though Montana, Nebraska and Utah have no such requirement. As of 1998, young drivers with this license are prohibited from driving between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., and they may only have as many passengers as the vehicle has seat belts.

While these types of regulations have proven to slow down accident rates among teenagers nationwide, some people worry that they don't necessarily prepare all drivers for the road.

"For some people it's enough time, but others just aren't ready," said Jackie Lyon, owner of A-Plus Traffic Safety Education in Manchester.

Lyon, whose been instructing driver education since 1985, said though restrictions on young drivers have gotten tighter over the years, she thinks many young drivers are not as well prepared emotionally for the road. She added that students generally do much better when their parents provide attentive support to their children's developing driving skills.

Lyon said the additional 20 hours of supervised driving are essential to young drivers' education, though many parents with whom she's dealt don't see the importance of the state requirement.

"I've had parents say to me, 'that's what I pay you for," Lyon said. "Some students need much more than the 20 hours." Ibanez said he's all for whatever can be done to better prepare young drivers, but added, "I don't care what driving course you take, come your first snowstorm, it's tough."

Penalties for young drivers Tighter regulations on aspiring young drivers and more comprehensive drivers education courses aim to teach kids how to drive responsibly before they hit the road. But once teens do get licensed, they are not home free, as penalties for all driving violations carry more weight with young drivers.

For all New Hampshire Drivers, a conviction stemming from a road violation earns the driver a set amount of demerit points. Accrued demerit points can lead to license suspension.

Drivers under the age of 21 accrue many more demerit points than do drivers 21 and up for identical convictions.

Common convictions that earn one point include driving without registration or failing to obey inspection requirements. Two-point convictions include driving an unregistered vehicle or failing to produce a driver's license when requested to by a police officer.

Three-point convictions include disobeying any traffic control device or driving on a sidewalk.

Four-point convictions include driving without a license or going 25 miles per hour above the speed limit.

Six-point convictions, the most severe, include driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or racing and/or reckless driving.

Under the current system, a 16- or 17-year-old driver would have their license suspended for three months if convicted of reckless driving, but a driver age 21 or up, convicted of the same offense, would have six demerit points remaining before suspension.

Thus, in New Hampshire as in most states, the leash is shorter for teenagers when it comes to problematic driving. And as much as the pyramid of experience is constructed of our mistakes, it seems many states are hoping to get those mistakes out of teenagers. systems before it's too late.