The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has commended Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and the Pennsylvania General Assembly for strengthening the Commonwealth’s teen driving law.
The new provision prohibits a junior license holder from carrying more than one passenger under the age of 18 for the first six months after receiving the license, unless a parent or guardian accompanies the driver. Additionally, the law makes it a primary offense when drivers and passengers under age 18 are not wearing a seat belt or properly secured in a child safety or booster seat.
“Lawmakers in Pennsylvania have taken a major step in reducing tragic teen highway fatalities,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman, who also spoke earlier this week at the NAPT Summit and NASDPTS conferences in Cincinnati. “Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers; we know that a teen driver’s crash risk increases with every teen passenger they carry.”
In 1993 the NTSB recommended a three-stage, graduated driver licensing system with a nighttime driving restriction. In 2002 it added a passenger restriction to this recommendation, and a year later, mandated a restriction on the use of interactive wireless communication devices while driving.
Additional information about the NTSB’s recommendations on graduated driver licensing is available at www.ntsb.gov.
