1 National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341
2 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, DC 20590
In this issue of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatrics has taken a strong stand for safety in their policy statement entitled "The Teenage Driver." Among their recommendations, they call for graduated licensure for teenage drivers, a position we believe shows promise. Passing such legislation could be a critical step in reducing the leading cause of death in youth from 16 through 20 years old: motor vehicle crashes. Although teens constitute only 7% of the population of the United States, they account for 14% of all motor-vehicle deaths. More than 5000 teens die andi about a half-million are injured each year in traffic deaths.2
Submitted on August 30, 1996