What we know, what we don't know, and what we need to know about graduated driver licensing

On November 5-7, 2002, the Symposium on Graduated Driver Licensing in Chatham, MA, brought together 75 researchers and practitioners from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to document the current science of graduated driver licensing (GDL) and to outline research needs. Participants reviewed 12 background papers and discussed the papers in depth. The symposium's background papers are published in this issue of the Journal of Safety Research. This paper summarizes and provides a quick reference to information from the symposium papers and participant discussions. It cites the 12 symposium papers, which in turn provide more information and cite original sources. Issues and recommendations not followed by a citation were raised in the symposium discussions. This paper is divided into seven sections. The first six sections summarize information from the symposium papers and discussions. The sections are: (1) The need for graduated driver licensing; (2) Effectiveness of GDL as implemented; (3) The learner's permit phase; (4) The provisional license phase; (5) The roles of teens, parents, and public agencies; and (6) Enacting and implementing GDL. In each of these six sections, research needs are classified as either high priority (important for designing and implementing effective GDL programs) or lower priority (useful but not critical for GDL at this time). The final section summarizes the discussion of research issues and priorities from the symposium's closing session. This section has three topics: general research, issues involving parents, and issues involving graduated licensing legislation and implementation. It presents participants' collective views on both broad priorities and specific issues. In providing a concise summary of presentations and discussions from the symposium, this paper necessarily omits some information and points of discussion. The views and judgments expressed are the authors' best attempt to capture the symposium's consensus, but they do not necessarily represent the views of the authors, their organizations, or any other individual symposium participant. In particular, they are not necessarily endorsed by the symposium's sponsors: General Motors, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Safety Council, and Nationwide.