Various media have reported on a nationwide study that shows that tougher licensing laws for teenage drivers have reduced deadly accidents among 16- and 17-year-olds — but that it increased the fatal crash rate among 18-year-olds. The “graduated driver license” programs are credited with a 30 percent drop in fatalities among new drivers. When researchers looked at the impact on all young drivers, however, they found that 18- and 19-year-old drivers were dying a a higher rate. Said a researcher: “In fact, 75 percent of the fatal crashes we thought we were saving actually just occurred two years later. It’s shocking.”
Even if we’re still 25 percent ahead of the game, something’s wrong with this picture.