While overall fatalities on Maryland’s roads also dropped from 2009 to 2010, officials said the declines weren’t as dramatic as in the teen statistics.

The stricter teen licensing laws, which went into effect Oct. 1, 2009, lengthened the time teens must hold a learner’s permit and provisional license and restricted the number and age of the passengers they can carry.

Vernon Betkey, chief of the Maryland Highway Safety Office, said the preliminary data proves the law is effective.

“There’s more validity showing that what we’re doing is working,” he said.

The benefits of the law were felt not only by teens and their families, according to state officials, but by all drivers on the road.

Fatal accidents in which teens were involved also decreased significantly, Betkey said.

In 2008, 106 people died in teen-involved crashes statewide. In 2009, that fell to 88. And in 2010, teen-involved motor vehicle fatalities dropped to 64.

But the good statistical news from the state comes at the same time AAA Mid-Atlantic is reminding teens and their parents that summer is the most dangerous season for young drivers.

AAA studies show that seven of the 10 deadliest driving days fall between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

“An average of 422 teens die in traffic crashes during each of the deadly summer months (regionally) as compared to a monthly average of 363 teen deaths during the non-summer months,” the June 6 report stated.

AAA Mid-Atlantic reports that teens feel more carefree and have more time on their hands to drive without cause during the summer months, making them more susceptible to accidents.

Betkey said Maryland’s statistics mirror those of AAA’s.

Betkey said 32 percent of teen driver and passenger deaths in Maryland occur in the three months teens are out of school.

Many of these deaths could have been prevented by proper seat belt use. Betkey said 54.6 percent of teens in fatal accidents were not wearing their seat belts. That is higher than the statewide rate for all drivers: 49.2 percent.

Passing her driving test recently meant Patricia Basil, 17, finally got to take part in a family tradition.

“When my older sister passed, she took me to McDonald’s. So I’ll take my younger sister to Chipotle,” the Arnold teen said. “But she has to pay.”

Basil is one of more than 143,000 Maryland teens with a driver’s license, according to 2010 Motor Vehicle Administration data. But she won’t start out as a full-fledged driver.

Under the 2009 graduated licensing law, teens must be at least 161/2 to get their provisional license. The earliest a teen can get his or her permit is three months before their 16th birthday.

Provisional license holders only can take family members and adults over 18 as passengers for the first 151 days. And even then, only one passenger per trip is allowed.