The Simple Rule That Cut Teen Car Crashes & Deaths By More Than Half

One thing I remember vividly from my time living in Australia was just how much more seriously they seemed to take car accidents than the United States where I grew up and learned to drive. In Australia, there are digital signs on highways broadcasting the number of accidents that happen every month both as a warning and a source of pride if the number remained low.

Those memories came back as I read the story of new research from the New South Wales government that points to a simple rule implemented back in 2007 that seems to have helped hospitalizations and fatalities from car accidents among teenagers plunge by 58%.

What was the rule? A ban on carrying multiple passengers between 11 PM and 4:59 AM for first-year drivers under the age of 21. This is research that should be publicized to every country in the world. And if you’re the parent of a teenager, enacting this same ban for your kids may be the single most powerful thing you can do to help keep your young driver (and their passengers) safe too.