AAA Traveler Magazine - Mississippi Graduated Licensing

Mississippi trying to put the brakes on teen crashes with new licensing

Published: May/Jun 2000

The Mississippi State Senate recently passed a bill that, if adopted by the House of Representatives, will create a three-tiered driver licensing system designed to help reduce the dreadful number of teen motor vehicle crashes.

Often referred to as GDL, graduated driver licensing programs are designed to give novice drivers practice and experience behind the wheel of a motor vehicle before being granted full, unrestricted driving privileges. If passed, Mississippi will join at least 36 other states that have enacted some form of a graduated driver licensing system.

Under Senate Bill 3176, now winding its way through the Mississippi House of Representatives, teen drivers will be required to first drive under a learner’s permit for at least six months. During that period, the driver must be accompanied at all times by a licensed adult at least 21 years of age.

After the six-month learner's permit period, the teen can graduate to the intermediate stage. Teens at least 16 years old who have graduated from the beginner’s stage can be granted an intermediate driver’s license, which allows him or her the privilege to drive unsupervised between the hours of 5 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Teens holding an intermediate license must be accompanied by a licensed adult at least 21 years old if driving between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. After six months in the intermediate stage, teens could apply for full licensure.

As of press time, the bill, sponsored by Sen. Terry Burton, had not reached the House for a final vote. It was in the House Transportation Committee.

To search the Web for a current update, visit the Legislature’s Web site at http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us. Or call the House information number at (601) 359-3719.

A separate GDL law proposed on the House side failed to make it out of committee, so, it is vital that House members are encouraged to rally behind Senate Bill 3176. AAA urges you to call your representative today and encourage him or her to vote for Senate Bill 3176.

AAA has been a staunch supporter of GDL programs across the country. To illustrate the need for the program in Mississippi, AAA produced “Behind the Wheel: Mississippi Teen-agers at Risk,” which analyzes why teens crash more often than adult motorists and outlines the benefits of GDL systems. To pick up a copy, stop by the AAA office in Jackson, located at 900 E. County Line Road.

School violence and drug use among teens understandably capture headline news, but as serious as these issues are, the fact remains that the No. 1 threat to teen-ager’s lives is motor vehicle crashes.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in Mississippi for virtually all young people between the ages of 5 and 24, outdistancing deaths from homicide, suicide, other accidental injuries, drug dependency, cancer or heart disease. In Mississippi, 15-to-19-year-old drivers make up approximately 7 percent of all licensed drivers but are involved in 16 percent of the total traffic crashes, and 12 percent of all fatal crashes.

One young person is killed or injured every 43 minutes in Mississippi traffic crashes. During a six-year period spanning from 1993 to 1998, nearly 700 young people age 15-19 lost their lives in traffic crashes on Mississippi roads. Another estimated 54,000 young people sustained injuries when the vehicles they were driving or riding in crashed.

To further illustrate the need for such a program in Mississippi, AAA has produced a booklet that examines teen crash statistics statewide. The booklet, "Behind the Wheel: Mississippi Teen-agers at Risk," analyzes why teens crash more often than adult motorists and outlines the benefits of graduated licensing systems. Copies of the report are being sent out to members of the Mississippi Legislature and others concerned with public safety.

By raising awareness of the issue and offering a solution, AAA hopes to help curb the rising number of teen deaths and injuries on Mississippi's roads. Being behind the wheel doesn't have to be a risky place for teen-agers.