MINNEAPOLIS, February 28, 2008—MMA President James J. Dehen Jr., M.D., submitted a letter Wednesday to Rep. Kim Norton, DFL-Rochester, supporting H.F. 2628, which would strengthen Minnesota’s Graduated Drivers License Law.

Norton is the chief author of the bill that, if passed, would stipulate that novice drivers may transport only one passenger under the age of 21 who is not a member of the driver’s immediate family and prohibit novice drivers from being behind the wheel between the hours of 12 a.m. to 5 a.m.

The bill passed the House Transportation and Transit Policy Subcommittee on Wednesday and was referred to the larger House Transportation Finance Division Committee.

“By strengthening Minnesota’s current Graduated Drivers License Law, we will prevent injury and reduce deaths among young drivers and others on Minnesota’s roads by ensuring that new drivers have the maximum time to practice driving, under the safest possible real-world conditions,” Dehen said in the letter.

Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death and serious injury for Minnesota teens, claiming more lives than the next four causes combined, the letter said.

Young drivers ages 15 to 24 comprise 7 percent of drivers but represent 24 percent of drivers involved in crashes, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. In 2005, 111 individuals under 21 were killed in traffic crashes. 

The odds of an accident and bodily injury also increase when teens transport other teens. A 2001 study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that the risk of death increased significantly with each additional teen passenger transported by a teen driver.