Essay Sample on Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Program

It is a milestone for many teens when they get their driver's licenses. With driving comes a great deal of responsibility. Unfortunately for many teens, they can't handle this responsibility leading to car accidents that put them in danger. There are many programs to prevent automobile accidents in teen drivers. This can include safety protocols, graduated driver's license programs, and informing teens about the dangers of the road. Graduated license programs offer more security and knowledge for teen chauffeurs in addition to reducing lethal accidents between teenagers, and have had the greatest effect on teenager drivers.

Drivers that participate in Graduated Licensing Programs get to drive under their supervision and commence driving once they get their license. This sanctions teens to gain experience and provides more safety in preparation for them. Carolynn Susannah Feasting elaborates on the claim that driving 6-12 months before getting your license allows teen drivers to be more before they earn their driver's license,  allowing drivers to fully gain safety and experience on the road.[doc1]. Author Shane K. Williamson also instills this claim by stating that drivers can be safer if they are driving under supervision, such as one in a graduated licensing program. Parents should set expectations and limits for their teens when it comes to driving to ensure safety. The idea of driving before teens get their license is a concept that can ensure safety in the future and can provide experience to the driver. Unless a teenager is well-versed with the road, they are more likely to present themselves as hazards.  Allowing the teen driver to begin driving earlier will elevate the familiarity with the driver, allowing the driver to be more comfortable on the road without having the experience of driving before their license teens cant get the “feel of driving”. Anyone can pass a written exam about the road, but applying those concepts to the road is harder, and proves more difficult. Take for example if a driver didn't have experience, the teen driver wouldn't know what the signs, crossroads, road markings meant. But with supervision, a trusted advisor can assist in the road and can make driving safer in the future. Having a supervisor sanctions assistance to the driver, which can make them understand the rules of the road, and can overall make them better drivers.

Fatalities in teen driving is a concept that scares many parents of new drivers. Utilizing the Graduated Licensing program is statistically proven to prevent fatal automobile accidents, providing the greatest impact to drivers.  This point is driven by Author Carolynn Susannah  Feasting that claims that Before graduated licensing programs in 1995 before the introduction of graduated licensing programs 2,667 drivers aged 16-17 were involved in fatal accidents.... this number plunged to 1,150 by 2010. By 2014, it plummeted to 801 ..  “GDL is acknowledged to have played a key role in that decrease"  GDL programs have provided the largest sense of security for teen drivers, in reducing the number of fatal car accidents. Parents also have felt more secure because of decreased fatality rates as well as seen by Author Phillip Jones. "Jennifer is a good driver…for a 16-year-old, but she hasn’t had enough experience driving on her own to know how to handle all of the different situations that can come up. " Source 3 Paragraph 13.    Its statistically proven that these programs have worked, GDL programs have reduced these fatal accidents by over 69%. Drivers that utilize these GDL programs are less likely to get in a car crash if they didn't. By driving before they get the license they can be put into certain circumstances, that they will know how to control. With a preeminent driver, they will guide the teen into assistance so that will understand what to do in that situation and how to control it. Parents also feel more secure utilizing these GDL programs as well, because they feel more secure in the sense that their teen driver knows what to do if a fatal circumstance could arise, and how to prevent it.