
Now, they are seeking new ways to hasten the learning process and save lives in the first critical months of independence on the road. Researchers in psychology have already changed the way teens get their licenses by championing the graduated driver licensing (GDL) system, which built in protections for young drivers and made them safer over the past 2 decades. “And the way that we have traditionally licensed in the United States is basically to say, ‘If you can pass a written test, go for it, good luck.’” “They are learning to do something that is really quite complex that they’ve never done before,” said Robert Foss, PhD, a social psychologist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.
#Driving hazard perception test simulator how to
Deciding how to license teen drivers is often a balancing act between mobility, equity, and safety. Novice drivers have crash rates 2 to 3 times higher than experienced drivers, and they’re overrepresented in fatal crash statistics. But the pandemic’s echoes highlight the push and pull of licensing these young, vulnerable drivers. Most teens do pass their road tests, which cover only very basic driving skills.

It is unclear what effect, if any, these changes will have on teen driving safety. Meanwhile, some states’ licensing offices have now outsourced road tests to third-party driving schools. North Carolina also allows road test waivers for some new drivers over the age of 18. In Wisconsin and Mississippi, for example, teen drivers with a learner’s permit can now have their parents submit an affidavit of practice in lieu of an on-road test. Generally, pre-pandemic standards have now returned, but in some places, covid wrought a permanent change.

When the covid-19 pandemic triggered shutdowns in 2020, many states waived on-road testing for new drivers.
