Does Graduated Licensing Empower Parents to Place Greater Restrictions on Their Newly Licensed Teens’ Driving?

Abstract

This investigation sought to determine if Maryland’s new graduated licensing programwas associated with greater levels of parental involvement in, and restriction on, teens’ unsupervised driving. Separate samples of teens with provisional licenses were interviewed by telephone before ( n= 424) and after ( n= 600) the new program took effect. The findings indicated that teens in the new program reported significant increases in the frequency of parental driving instruction and supervised driving during the permit phase. There were no differences in amounts of instruction or supervised driving after provisional licensure. Also, teens in the new program reported greater overall amounts of parental restriction on their driving; however, few specific restrictions showed increases. Programs that encourage parents to regulate, restrict, monitor, and supervise the driving privileges of their teens during their provisional period of licensure are recommended. Graduated licensing laws and programs benefit from specific behavioral interventions targeted to, and implemented by, parents.