SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is crediting a graduated driver’s license law with a 51 percent drop in teenage-driver deaths in the past decade.
The Democrat running for a sixth term in 2018 announced the numbers Monday at the beginning of National Teen Driver Safety Week.
White cited Illinois Department of Transportation data that show there were 76 fatalities among motorists aged 16-19 in 2016. That’s down from 155 in 2007, the year before the Graduated Driver’s License program took effect.
The program gives teenagers more time to gain experience behind the wheel under a parent’s or guardian’s supervision. It limits in-car distractions and requires teens to earn their way from one stage of driving to the next.
