State Graduated Driver Licensing Laws

Parents may not know where to start when it comes to setting driving rules for their teens. The best place to begin is by learning about Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws. Although GDL provisions vary by state, all GDL programs are in place to ensure teens gradually and safely gain the experience they need.

GDL laws have reduced teenage driver crashes. Most states now have at least minimum requirements for basic GDL features, although there is substantial opportunity for strengthening existing policies. Additional upgrades would result in further crash reductions, but very few have been made in recent years.

Strong state GDL programs can help to address inexperience by improving driving opportunities for teens to gain experience in lower-risk driving situations. To further reduce the number of deaths and injuries from teen driver-related crashes, state GDL laws should also target key behaviors of teens in cars that are known to raise the risk of crashing (distracted driving, impaired driving) or that are known to increase the likelihood of injury or death if a crash occurs (lack of seat belt use).

To make it easy for parents and teens to learn about their state GDL laws, we created an interactive map to access this information. Just click on your state and follow the link provided.