Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is crediting a graduated driver's license law with a 51 percent drop in teenage-driver deaths in the past decade.
The Democrat running for a sixth term in 2018 announced the numbers Monday at the beginning of National Teen Driver Safety Week .
White cited Illinois Department of Transportation data that show there were 76 fatalities among motorists aged 16-19 in 2016. That's down from 155 in 2007, the year before the Graduated Driver's License program took effect.
The program gives teenagers more time to gain experience behind the wheel under a parent's or guardian's supervision. It limits in-car distractions and requires teens to earn their way from one stage of driving to the next.
