State drives older teens to rules of road class

March 28--Twelve days after he turned 18, Jonathan Hernandez visited the Illinois secretary of state's driver services facility in Naperville to get his first license. After checking in, he took the vision, written and road tests and passed all three.

When he received his plastic passport to adventure, Hernandez smiled broadly and exchanged a high-five with a friend, Tehavis Price. Then both jumped in the blue 2002 BMW that Hernandez had bought a few days earlier.

"I'm going to go get my car washed" to celebrate, said Hernandez, of Aurora.

In a few months, obtaining that license will be a little more complicated for older teens, increasing numbers of whom are delaying the rite of obtaining driver's licenses. Starting July 1, Illinois will require all 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds to complete six hours of classroom or online driver education before receiving a license. Behind-the-wheel training will not be required.

Current Illinois law allows those 18 or older to receive their first license if they pass the vision, written and road tests. Driver education is optional.

Driving safety advocates in Illinois -- already considered one of the more restrictive teen driving states -- say the new measure will help reduce traffic fatalities among a high-risk group that is largely ignored. Others contend the new law may matter little and could harm driver training schools.

The concept of classroom driver training for that group emerged from state driver safety task force public hearings and has support from driver education and safety groups, said state Rep. John D'Amico, D-Chicago, sponsor of the legislation.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that at least six other states -- Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, Texas, Utah and Virginia -- have imposed driver education requirements for people in their higher teens and early 20s. Maryland and Texas require individuals under age 25 to complete driver education before obtaining a license.

"The way I look at it," D'Amico said, "at least this adds a layer of education to (the driver) before he goes to take the tests. If they can take a class and learn something, I think it helps."

The new law will take effect about six years after Illinois imposed some of the stronger teen driving laws in the U.S. Known as graduated driver licensing, or GDL, the system calls for new, teen drivers to carry a learners permit for nine months; acquire 50 hours of adult supervised, behind-the-wheel training; and accept limits on passengers and night driving.

Study after study find a close association between a decline in young-teen driving deaths and more restrictive teen driving laws. A 2006 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showed that states with the most restrictive GDL systems experienced a 21 percent drop in 16-year-old driver deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that those more comprehensive programs yielded a near-40 percent reduction in fatal and injury crashes among 16-year-old drivers.

Illinois' experience has reflected those results. Since more stringent teen driving laws took effect in 2008, car crash deaths of 16- to 19-year olds in the state dropped to 58 in 2012, the Illinois Department of Transportation reports. IDOT figures show that total was 144 in the year before those restrictions.

The number of deaths among drivers who are 18, 19 and 20 also dropped by 30 percent, to 60, in the year the tougher GDL laws took effect on Jan. 1, 2008, according to IDOT figures.

Driver fatalities in that group dropped again, to 39 the next year, before spiking to 46 in 2010 and remaining at 35 deaths per year in 2011 and 2012.

While those fatalities generally are decreasing in recent years, more teens are waiting to obtain a license. A 2013 report by AAA stated that less than half of teens (44 percent) obtain a license in the first year of the minimum licensing age and 54 percent have a license by the time they turn 18. Two decades ago, AAA reports, more than two-thirds of teens were licensed by their 18th birthday.

And, a significant number are bypassing driver education. Illinois secretary of state records show that nearly 16,500 of the 32,000 driver's licenses issued to 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds in 2012 were obtained by individuals who had no driver education.

Exactly why more than half of those new license recipients lack driver education is somewhat unclear. Research suggests that the economic downturn was a leading factor in that trend and in the decline in teen driving deaths. The ubiquity of social media and tougher GDL standards also have been cited in explaining why more teens are waiting to get a license.

Whatever the reason, driver safety advocates in the secretary of state's office viewed the looser licensing requirements for the older group as a gap that needed to be filled.

"Secretary White's concern all along has been that these older teens are receiving no training whatsoever before they come to a drivers facility to apply for a driver's license," said Illinois secretary of state spokesman Henry Haupt.

But the value of driver education remains debatable. A 2012 NHTSA report concluded that "the expectation that driver education by itself will lead to a decreased teen crash rate is unrealistic," and the IIHS maintains that driver education teaches rudimentary skills but does not reduce the number of teen crashes or enhance traffic safety.

When told of Illinois' upcoming law, IIHS Senior Vice President of Research Anne McCartt was blunt.

"I would say that research suggests that it would not have a measurable effect on crash rates," she said, even though it "can be helpful in people learning the rules of the road and basic driving skills."

Apart from those concerns, commercial driver training schools worry the new law may hurt their business.

"It baffles me," said Charles McCoy, an instructor for his wife's company, Advanced Driving School, based in Granite City. He has called for an inspector general's investigation into the law.

"They're trying to change my business model," McCoy said, "and take my market away from me."

The Illinois Compiled Statutes requires all driver training companies be licensed by the secretary of state, he said. The new legislation allows the office to certify -- not license -- firms to provide classroom and online instruction. That distinction is critical, McCoy maintains. Commercial driver training schools, which must be licensed, are held to much higher standards, he said.

Haupt and D'Amico rejected McCoy's claims, saying certification will be exacting. They also said the new law will create a market for Illinois driving schools.

"This law does not hurt the competition," Haupt said. "It offers these older teens more options" to take the six-hour training at a brick-and-mortar commercial driver training school or online.

"This is not about market share," Haupt said. "This is about traffic safety."

The required classes, he said, are "a first step and it's a good first step."

Hernandez and Price agreed.

"Yeah," Hernandez said, "because it ensures more safety and you'll know more. You'll probably fail the test if you just come in."

Price, who said he got his license when he was 16, also supported the six-hour class for older teens seeking a license.

"There's so much stuff you've got to know," he said. "Even if you're not behind the wheel, the rules you're learning, they are valuable. You need them or else you're going to get a ticket."

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