Number 320 February 2007

Traffic Safety Facts

Traffic Tech – Technology Transfer Series

Graduated Driver Licensing in Georgia:

The Impact of the Teenage and Adult Driver 

Responsibility Act (TADRA)

U.S. Department of Transportation 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Georgia’s Teenage and Adult Driver Responsibility Act 

(TADRA) was enacted in July 1997 and strengthened in 

2001. In addition to introducing the concept of graduated 

driver licensing (GDL) for 16-year-old drivers, TADRA 

imposed additional restrictions on drivers up to age 18. 

These provisions included “zero tolerance” for Driving 

Under the Influence (DUI) involving underage drivers and 

automatic license revocation for excessive speeding and 

other dangerous driving behaviors.

To evaluate TADRA, the National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration established a cooperative agreement with 

Emory University. The evaluation compared fatal crash 

data during the five and a half years before the enactment of 

TADRA to fatal crash data during the five and a half years 

after enactment. To control for regional and historical effects, 

TADRA’s impact in Georgia was compared to adjoining 

States that did not enact GDL laws during the same period.

Driver Fatal Crash Rates

During the 51⁄2 years before Georgia enacted TADRA, 

317 16-year-old drivers in Georgia were involved in fatal 

crashes, a rate of 57 fatal crashes per 100,000 16-year-old 

drivers. During the first 51⁄2 years following enactment 

of TADRA, 230 16-year-old drivers were involved in fatal 

crashes, a rate of 36.1 per 100,000 16-year-old drivers. This 

represents a 36.8-percent decrease in the rate of fatal crashes 

involving 16-year-old drivers. Enactment of TADRA was 

also associated with a significant decrease in the rate of fatal 

crashes involving 17-year-old drivers. Following enactment, 

the driver fatal crash rate per 100,000 17-year-old drivers 

decreased 19.1 percent (see Figure 1). 

Figure 1

Fatal Crash Rates in Georgia Before and After TADRA, 1992-2002

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

16 17 18 25

Age

Before TADRA

After TADRA

Speed-Related Fatal Crash Rates

The behavior most commonly implicated in fatal crashes of 

young Georgia drivers is driving at unsafe and/or illegal 

speeds. Following enactment of TADRA, the rate of speedrelated fatal crashes among Georgia 16-year-old drivers 

declined by 49 percent (see Figure 2). 

Figure 2

Speed-Related Fatal Crash Rates Before and After TADRA, 1992-2002

25

20

15

10

5

0

16 17 18 25

Age

Before TADRA

After TADRA
TRAFFIC TECH is a publication to disseminate information 

about traffic safety programs, 

including evaluations, innova- tive programs, and new pub- lications. Feel free to copy it 

as you wish. If you would 

like to receive a copy, contact 

Melissa Cheung, MPH, Editor, fax 202-366-7096, e-mail: 

melissa.cheung@dot.gov.

400 Seventh Street SW.

NTI-130

Washington, DC 20590

Alcohol-Involved Fatal Crash Rates

In Georgia, fatal crashes involving alcohol-involved drivers 

under 18 are uncommon, although once drivers reach the age 

of 18, alcohol-involved fatal crash rates climb dramatically, 

peaking between 21 and 24 years old. However, during the 

first 51⁄2 years after Georgia enacted TADRA, fatal alcoholinvolved crashes declined by 62.1 percent for 16-year-old 

Georgia drivers, by 30 percent for 17-year-old drivers, and 

by 4.4 percent for 18-year-old drivers (see Figure 3).

Figure 3

Alcohol-Involved Fatal Crash Rates in Georgia Before and After 

TADRA, 1992-2002

Fatal Crashes by Time of Day

TADRA also sharply restricted late-night driving by 16-

year-old drivers. After enactment of TADRA, substantial 

decreases in 16-year-old driver fatal crash rates were noted 

in every time interval of the 24-hour cycle (see Figure 4).

Figure 4

Percent Change in Fatal Crash Rates in Georgia Among 16-Year-Old 

Drivers, 1992-2002

18

16

14

12

10

0

16 25+

Age

8

6

4

2

17 18 19 20 21-24

Before TADRA

After TADRA

Georgia Compared to Surrounding States

To determine if reductions in driver fatal crash rates 

observed in Georgia after enactment of TADRA were due to 

regional or historical effects rather than the law itself, agespecific pre- and post-enactment rates of driver fatal crashes 

in Georgia were compared to those of three bordering States 

-40

-50

-60

3pm-6pm

Time Period

-30

-20

-10

0

12am-3am

3am-6m

6am-9am

9am-12pm

12pm-3pm

6pm-9pm

9pm-12am

(South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama) that did not 

enact similar legislation during the same time period. Prior 

to the enactment of TADRA, the rate of driver fatal crashes 

among 16-year-old Georgia drivers was similar to that of 16-

year-old drivers in the three comparison States. Following 

enactment of TADRA, the rate of fatal crashes involving 

16-year-old drivers in Georgia was 34-percent lower than 

in Tennessee, 32-percent lower than in Alabama, and 18-

percent lower than in South Carolina.

Conclusions

Before enactment of TADRA, the rate of fatal crashes 

involving 16-year-old Georgia drivers was very high. In the 

51⁄2 years following enactment of TADRA, the fatal crash rate 

among 16-year-old Georgia drivers declined significantly, 

but it was still 28.6-percent higher than the U.S. average 

for 16-year-old drivers. Nevertheless, TADRA appears to 

have had a substantial impact on highway safety in Georgia. 

The impact of TADRA on 16-year-old fatal crash rates was 

substantially greater than the effects of GDL enactment 

reported from other States where the impact of this law has 

been evaluated (i.e., Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, North 

Carolina, Ohio, and Utah). TADRA’s impact may have been 

greater because it included additional provisions aimed at 

deterring certain high-risk behaviors, most notably DUI 

and excessive speeding. TADRA also differs from most 

State GDL laws because it imposes a highly meaningful and 

inescapable sanction—automatic license revocation—on 

those who violate its provisions.

How to Order

To order Evaluation of Georgia’s Teenage and Adult 

Responsibility Act (42 pages plus appendices), prepared 

by Emory University, write to the Office of Behavioral 

Safety Research, NHTSA, NTI-130, 400 Seventh Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20590, fax 202-366-7096, or download from 

www.nhtsa.dot.gov. Paul J. Tremont, Ph.D., was the Project 

Officer for this Cooperative Agreement.