Provisional Driver's Licenses Reduce Teen-Involved Driving Crashes

Under the provisional license, teens are not allowed to have friends in the car or drive late at night.

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By Lauren Maxwell
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Four teenagers sent to the hospital this week after a crash in Birchwood have some wondering how prepared our young people are who get behind the wheel.

But the state says some changes made in the last five years are actually making Alaska’s teens better drivers.

Young drivers are now required to get what’s called a provisional license.

That means teens who are at least 16 years old must pass both a written test and a road test. After that, a provisional license is issued for the next six months.

Under the provisional license, teens are not allowed to have friends in the car—they can only transport siblings.

They can’t drive alone late at night and can’t have convictions for a driving offense or consuming alcohol. If they follow the rules they are granted a regular Alaska driver’s license in six months.

DMV officials say the idea is to make teen drivers safer on the road by letting them gain confidence and experience gradually. They say that crashes involving teen drivers have gone down at least 30 percent since the new provisional license rules were put in place.

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James said on Friday, Jul 29 at 9:53 AM

No learners permit? How are they supposed to learn to drive? A writen test wont help with that! James www.bapins.com

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sobeit said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 3:14 PM

Adult crashes are up because military families don't know how to drive in the snow and most of the idiots from here think they are invincible driving on the snow. Why do yo think there are more crashes after the first snow fall then the last one? Becasue during the summer people forgot how to drive.

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So what happens when they grow up? said on Friday, Jul 22 at 8:40 PM

It has certainly reduced teen crashes, but 'adult' crashes are the highest in the nation.

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JP said on Thursday, Jul 21 at 8:59 AM

MIDGARDIAN/ WAKE UP. ALL STATES REQUIRE A PERMIT BEFORE GETTING YOUR LICENSE. IT IS ALASKA NOT ETHIOPIA.

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Niehaus said on Thursday, Jul 21 at 7:25 AM

if the parents would get off their lazy behind and paid more attention to their children instead of giving them what they want to shut them up or actually teach and train and beat it into their children's skull what is right what is wrong and WHO IS IN CHARGE, today's children might have a chance for survival and look at all the objects with value not toys. Instead, parents are afraid of their children and the state so they let them get away with anything as long as it shuts them up.

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Midgardian said on Thursday, Jul 21 at 2:17 AM

What ever happened to permits? Maybe y'all don't have those here. But in NC, where I grew up, we got a permit when we turned 15 which let us drive whenever as long as an adult( Parent? I forget. It's been 18 years since then.) was in the car.

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olddg said on Wednesday, Jul 20 at 8:03 PM

I had my license at 14 drove a jlopy that wouldn,t go over 50 mph but had great breaks and an am raido. I paid for it my self with an after school job and a paper route. Nobody ever gave me a thing, I EARNED IT

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