It’s hard to believe, but this one acronym could save your teen’s life. So if you don’t know what GDL stands for, clear out that little bit of head space for a new acronym. If you are keeping up with your teen, you can file this one right after DM (“Direct Message”).
What The Heck Is GDL? First things first, GDL stands for Graduated Driver License. Easy enough, right? It operates just like it sounds. In the state of Missouri, the GDL program is a three-step licensing program in which your teen, by law, has to progress through three phases of driving before becoming fully licensed: Instruction Permit, Intermediate Driver's License, and Under 21 Full Driver License. Each of these phases has its own requirements and laws that you and your teen must follow in order to “graduate” to the next level.
Why Should You Care? Well, first of all, it's the law. Secondly, and possibly more important to you, depending on your penchant for breaking the law and how much you like your teenager today, is that GDL is the single most effective tool in reducing teen driver crashes. For example, states that have GDL provisions in place report anywhere between a 20 and 40 percent drop in the number crashes among 16-year-old drivers! I think you can do that math on that one to see that GDL laws are keeping more of our future generation alive and healthy so that they can offset the costs of our health premiums in the years to come. It’s a win-win for all.
How Does it Work? The three main causes of teenage crashes are inexperience, nighttime driving, and driving with multiple passengers. GDL laws are powerful because they keep teens out of high-risk driving situations while giving them the chance to acquire driving skills in lower-risk situations, such as driving with a parent. Did you know that teens rarely crash when driving with a supervised driver? Well, the makers of the GDL laws did and they made it mandatory, at least in the State of Missouri, that a teen must log a minimum of 40 hours of supervised practice driving with 10 of those hours occurring at night.
Take-aways
It’s a big commitment from the parent in the form of time (40 hours) and money (hiring a driving instructor), but your teen is worth it.
Most importantly - this gives you the opportunity to set the stage for being a driving mentor for the rest of your teen’s life. Now THAT is worth the investment if you know the approaches and techniques to add value every time you get in the car together.
Teaching Driving is a full guide to becoming an active mentor in your teen’s driving experience. To check out the course, click HERE.
To find out if your state has a GDL requirement you can visit THIS link
For more information about Teaching Driving and to find more free tips, visit our website.