A new national law is being considered that would set federal standards for obtaining a driver’s license that all states would have to adhere to. The Uniform Safe Teen and Novice Driver Protection Act, known as the STANDUP Act, wants all states to obtain a graduated driver’s license, known as GDL. The GDL is a license that makes driving easier for young adults. New drivers face heavy restrictions that are gradually removed as they gain more experience over the years.

Those in favor of the STANDUP Act want all US states to adhere to the measures set out in the law. The law would also include a provision that allows the federal government to withhold a portion of the federal highway fund to states that do not comply with the STANDUP Act guidelines.

The national STANDUP Act website states that all fifty states adhere to the following guidelines:

-Three stages of the license must be used: learner’s permit, intermediate stage and full license.

-The age of 16 must be the earliest age to enter the learner’s permit process

-Unsupervised night driving must be restricted during the learner’s permit and the intermediate stages, until obtaining the full license at 18 years of age.

-Driving while using communication devices (cell phone calls, text messages) should be prohibited at least until fully licensed at age 18.

-Full unrestricted license must occur no earlier than 18 years of age

-Passengers must be restricted: no more than one non-family passenger under the age of 21 unless a licensed driver over the age of 21 is in the vehicle, until the full license is obtained at age 18.

Proponents of the law say that a GDL system will make the roads safer for all drivers and passengers, young and old. Most opponents of the STANDUP Act would prefer that the federal government not intervene in what has been primarily a state problem. The state of Delaware is the only state that would meet the guidelines mentioned in the STANDUP Act if they were enacted today, according to a Long Island accident attorney.

People in favor of the STANDUP Act more often use tragic statistics to back up their claims that a GDL program will make roads safer. According to a Manhattan car accident lawyer, more than 84,400 people have died in accidents involving teenage drivers since 1999. The same Manhattan car accident lawyer also produced this statistic, in the last five years in New York alone, 1,155 people have died in an accident involving a teenage driver.

The STANDUP Act website also offers these terrifying statistics:

-Teen drivers aged 16 to 19 have a fatality rate four times higher than that of drivers aged 25 to 69.

-16-year-old drivers have an accident rate three times higher than 17-year-olds, 5 times higher than 18-year-olds, and twice higher than 85-year-olds.

-In 2007, 20.5% of young drivers involved in fatal crashes had prior convictions for speeding.

-The estimated economic cost of police-reported crashes involving drivers ages 15-20 was $ 40.8 billion in the United States in 2002 alone.

Not surprisingly, it is the parents of teen drivers who are most in favor of passing the STANDUP Act. Bill Walter from Maryland says that “parents don’t have to be the bad guys when they say, ‘No, you can’t take your friends in the car’ or ‘No, you can’t drive late at night.’

It turns out that both the investigation and Judith Lee Stone, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, agree with what the STANDUP Act proposes. According to Stone, “what the research shows is that delaying licensing is the safest way to go. The longer it is, the better.” Stone goes on to explain, “We know that our brains don’t fully develop until our mid-20s somewhere,” he says. “Of course we are not suggesting that you wait that long, but a teenager’s brain is not fully developed, and certainly at age 15 that would be the case.”

Neither the House nor the Senate has issued a ruling on the STANDUP Act at the time this article was written.