Study Says Delaware License Law Means Fewer Teen Crashes

DOVER, Del. (AP) -- A new study has found that car accidents involving 16-year-olds in Delaware have dropped 30 percent since the "graduated" driver's license law took effect in 1999.

The University of Delaware study released this week attributes the drop to more parental supervision and night-driving restrictions. In 1998, 16-year-old drivers were involved in 1,001 crashes, but that figure fell steadily to 372 crashes in 2008.

Delaware's graduated driver license requires teenagers to be 16 to get a driver's permit, instead of 15 years and 10 months. It also mandates six months of parental supervision, restricts night driving and the number of passengers teen drivers can have in a vehicle, and prohibits cell phone use behind the wheel.

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