No one expects teen drivers to be able to drive perfectly the first time they get behind the wheel. How could they? They have never done it before? The danger of inexperience is precisely why teens go through drivers’ education classes and are tested in real-world situations before they are allowed to receive their license.

Even with all this training, teen drivers are still inexperienced drivers. As more and more took to the roads, auto accident rates increased. In response, graduated driver licensing laws were created to minimize the distractions and dangers. These laws put restrictions on the time of day a teen can drive, the number of passengers and others. These laws have been around for a while, but teen fatalities have increased again. This time, there was an increase of 19 percent in only six months.

The increase in teen driver deaths occurred in the first half of 2012, but it wasn’t the first time — the year prior they also increased. A highway safety consultant with the Governors Highway Safety Administration said the graduated licensing laws are a great tool, but not all of the programs have been developed to the “best practices.”

Some of these programs are doing better than others, with eight states holding steady and 17 even experiencing a drop in the number of teen fatalities on the roads. That means that the 25 states that saw an increase had numbers large enough to end with a 19 percent average — even with the 17 states with a drop bringing the average down. Clearly, some programs need a little more review than others.

Injured? Our Austin Car Accident Lawyers are Here for You.

The Stewart Law Firm, PLLC handles cases in which any driver causes injury to another. If you or your child has been injured in a car accident, please call our Austin personal injury lawyers for a free consultation.