PROVISIONAL DRIVER LICENSES SYSTEM FOR FOLLOW-UP EVALUATION OF MARYLAND YOUTH LICENSE CONTROL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. FINAL REPORT

In 1985, the State of Maryland revised its Provisional Licensing Law to move back the beginning of the nighttime driving restriction from 1AM - 6AM to 12AM - 5AM and to increase the duration of the Provisional License from six months to one year. The original law, which went into effect in 1979, had led to a 5% reduction in accidents and a 10% reduction in convictions within the 16-17 year age group affected by the law. No effect on nighttime accidents was detected. The change in the law does not appear to have had any effect upon accidents or convictions generally, or upon nighttime accidents. Moving back the nighttime restriction and duration of the Provisional License neither improved upon nor detracted from the beneficial effects of the original law. Focus group discussions show police, parents, and Provisional Licensees to be favorably inclined toward the law, although they felt the nighttime driving restriction was often unobserved or encroached upon. Increasing the duration of the Provisional License from 6 to 12 months without increasing the upper age limit (18 years) may have been counterproductive since it reduced the extent to which acquisition of a regular license could be accelerated by a violation-free record, a provision believed to have contributed to the beneficial effect of the original law.