Teen Driving Laws

Did you know that 16 year olds are three times as likely to die in a car crash compared to any other age group?  For this reason, teenage driving laws are constantly getting stronger and are being revised for better requirements.

Currently, teenagers are required to attend a state approved 4-hour driver’s awareness class or a 30-hour driver’s education class to obtain a permit before the age of 16. These classes are good because it gives teenagers the chance to learn about driving laws they may not have known. However, some kids may not have money for it, which is unfair. Payne Brewer commented, “Sounds fair. Not that many people are mature enough to drive.”

Yet, there are some good things about being able to drive at a younger age. Freshman Alexandra Vindiola said, “Driving is a big deal to me because I will be able to get around faster and so that I can be more independent. Not only that I’ll be able to manage my time better.”

With a permit teenagers can drive with a driving instructor, a parent, a legal adult, or a step parent who has signed the Affidavit of Liability and Guardianship for a year. After that year, teenagers can get their license if they have a certain amount of hours driving with an adult. They can also drive with any driver over the age of 21 that the Affidavit approves, however the hours cannot be logged with the others. For the first six months they can only drive with a family member over 18. After that first six months, they can drive with their friends.

According to the Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, the number one cause of death among teenagers ages 15 to 20 is vehicle crashes. This is probably because they are focusing on something else besides driving. Also, 2,739 drivers between the ages of 15 to 20 died in a car crash in 2008 which is down 13.7% from the number taken in 2007. That percentage went down 20.2% from 1996 which was 3,431.

Some basic laws for both teens and adults are that they cannot text while driving. Any use of cell phones while a vehicle is in motion is illegal for teenagers under the age of 18. When teenagers break a traffic law they get fined and have to go to court. From there teens possibly will have to take driving classes along with others depending on which law they broke.

Laws are there to protect the current generation of teenagers. Tami Medhurst, a parent of a teen driver agreed, “They could die! I don’t have anything against teenagers driving but sometimes it just takes experience to make good judgment calls while driving.”