RASH COURSE

Missouri teen-agers are at risk when they get behind the wheel.

From 1995 through 1997, more than 380 teens between 15 and 18 died in vehicle crashes on Missouri roads. Another 36,683 teen-agers were injured.

Those statistics are alarming to law enforcement authorities, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and AAA Auto Club, because the data suggests that although teen-agers make up fewer than 6 percent of the licensed drivers in the state, they were involved in more than 20 percent of the accidents in 1997.

The numbers are similar in Illinois: Teen-agers make up only 6 percent of all Illinois drivers, but they account for 16 percent of fatal crashes.

Nationally, teens account for 7 percent of the driving population but are involved in 14 percent of all fatal crashes.

Clearly, teens are substantially "overly involved" in traffic crashes, says a recent study by AAA Auto Club.

The study, titled "Behind the Wheel: Missouri's Teen-age Drivers at Risk," prepared with assistance of the Missouri Highway Patrol and its statistical analysis center, reveals another teen-crash concern: Almost 20 percent of all fatal crashes in Missouri involving the 15-to-18 age group occur between midnight and 6 a.m., when most teens should be at home.

The statistics also reveal that young drivers commit more errors than all other drivers combined. Of 3,956 drivers involved in fatal crashes in 1995, 1996 and 1997, 66 percent committed one or more driver errors, according to police records.

"Mistakes are a part of any learning process, including driving," said Mike Right, AAA vice president. "And in many cases many of those mistakes led to traffic crashes. The issue is how to minimize the likelihood that crashes will occur while young people are learning to drive."

Errors and traffic violations teens commit include driving on the wrong side of the road, failure to yield and drinking.

Overall, however, crash statistics show speeding and inattention are the top causes of crashes involving teen-agers. Other causes include driving too fast for road conditions and improper passing.

AAA Auto Club previously launched a national campaign to steer teen-agers toward safer driving. AAA and others in the auto insurance industry favor a three-step graduating system for young drivers: a learner's phase requiring that a licensed driver be in the car for at least six months, a half-year intermediate phase in which drivers could not drive at night or with other teen-agers in the car, and full privileges for drivers who complete the other phases without incident.

"We want to try to build up driving experience while keeping people out of the high-risk situations," said Right.

Twenty-six states have graduating driving licensing systems, said Right. Another 12 to 15, including Missouri, have legislative measures pending to establish a GDL system, he said.

Three such bills are in the Missouri Legislature, two in the House and one in the Senate, he said. "The bills are all similar," said Right. "Some call for more supervised driving time, others vary on curfew times."

"We'll be in communication with all members of the Legislature as the bills come to the attention of committees," he said.

Right is especially interested in the curfew portion of any bill that might pass.

"This certainly has to be a targeted area in any GDL bill," he said. "We're talking 19 percent of all teen fatal crashes occurring between midnight and 6 a.m. We'd like to see a curfew where teens can't operate a vehicle after midnight."

Under the present licensing system in Missouri, there is no requirement of experience behind the wheel. Anyone who passes written and road tests receive full driving privileges immediately.

Illinois implemented a GDL system in 1997. In Illinois a person must have taken driver's education in high school and have a parent's permission to be licensed at 16; otherwise, he or she can't obtain full driving privileges until 18.

The Illinois law includes a requirement that parents of young drivers certify that their child has completed at least 25 hours of supervised, behind-the-wheel instruction outside of driver education classes. Young drivers must hold a learner's permit for at least three months before being licensed.

In Illinois, a driver under the age of 21 faces a 30-day license suspension if convicted of more than two driving offenses in two years. Drivers under 18 who are suspended must complete a remedial driving course and be retested to get their driving privileges back.