State lawmaker says graduated licenses reduce accidents

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A state lawmaker says the success of a graduated driver's license program in Iowa shows that Oklahoma's new program will work.<br/><br/>The Legislature approved the program

Tuesday, August 9th 2005, 6:29 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A state lawmaker says the success of a graduated driver's license program in Iowa shows that Oklahoma's new program will work.

The Legislature approved the program last spring. It's designed to reduce the number of traffic accidents involving 16-year-old drivers.

Representative Danny Morgan says he's pleased the Legislature recognized a need for the program. Morgan says it will save the lives of many teen drivers.

Since the Iowa law took effect in 1999, traffic accidents involving 16-year-old drivers have declined from 62-hundred in 1998 to less than 42-hundred in 2003.

Oklahoma's graduated driver's license program limits the number and age of passengers allowed in a vehicle with a teenage driver and the hours a teen can drive.