Arizona car accidents for teenage drivers
Attorney Representation in Phoenix, Arizona Since 1996
Arizona Car Accident Attorneys
Teenage drivers are known to cause and be in a lot more auto accidents than adult drivers. A lot of this is based on experience in driving but also teenage drivers are more likely to be distracted when driving and not paying as much attention as adult drivers.
National Statistics on Teenage Driving for Auto Accidents
There are many reasons that teenagers are distracted when driving. Let's look at some of them below and look at more statistics on teenage driving and fatal accidents:
- cell phone use as of 2008 was highest among 16-24 year olds.
(This number is likely to go down as many adults are getting cell phones as well) - 37% of male drivers ages 15-20 involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time.
- car accident crashes are the number one cause of death amount 15-20 year olds
- The age that has the highest crash rate is 16 year olds
- The main cause of death among 15-20 year olds is motor vehicle accidents
- Between the ages of 15 and 20 years old 2,739 drivers were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2008
- In 2008 about 2 out of every 3 teenagers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes were males
- 12% of drivers who were involved in fatal crashes were 15-20 years old
- Teenage passengers who were killed in motor vehicle accidents 63% of the time were being driven by another teenager
- Of the 3,678 teenagers who were in cars and were killed, 55% of the teenagers were not wearing their seatbelt at the time of the fatal accident and injury In states where teenager drivers have to take a driving course, there was a 20% decrease in fatal crashes for teenagers.
Driving for teenagers and permit in Arizona
In order to get your permit in Arizona, you must be a minimum of 15 years old and 6 months of age. The teenager driver when getting his/her permit must also pass a written driving test and a vision test. Once a teenage driver gets their permit, they can only drive with an adult that has their license, specifically a class A, B, C or D license. The adult licensed driver has to sit in the passenger seat next to the permitted driver. A drivers permit in Arizona is valid for one year.
It is the hope that during this time teenage drivers will gain more experience and learn how to drive without being distracted and not be in or case any car accidents.
Graduated Drivers License in Arizona "Class G"
Once you have your permit for at least 6 months, you can then apply for a Class G license which is where you are allowed to drive by yourself. To obtain a Class G license where you can drive by yourself, you must also be sixteen years of age and no older than 18 years of age. You must also have completed a driver's education class. The class must be approved by the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division, which is also known as the MVD.
If the teen has not gone through a approved program then the parent of the teen can attest that their son/daughter completed at least thirty hours of supervised driving practice. I would highly suggest that teenage drivers do go through a formal program. These programs are designed to help drivers and to help them understand why there are so many car crashes in Arizona. The last thing parents of teenage drivers want to be involved in is a personal injury claim where their teen is the cause of a serious accident and injury with an innocent individual.
If a 16 year old gets his drivers license, there are some restrictions on when the teenager can drive. The reason for these restrictions is again to prevent auto accidents. Given the above statistics we saw above and since teenagers are involved in serious car crashes, these restrictions make perfect sense. The restrictions on a 16-18 year old driver in Arizona are as follows:
- The driver cannot drive from midnight until 5:00a.m. unless they are with a legal guardian or a parent. This parent must have a valid driver's license and just like with the permit license, the parent or guardian must be sitting in the front seat passenger seat. Arizona does provide some exceptions to this rule which is if the teenage driver is driving to or from a family emergency, work, a religious event, or a sponsored school event they can drive between the above hours.
- The teenager driver cannot have more than one occupant in his vehicle that is under the age of 18 years old. If the teenager driver has a parent or legal guardian driving with him/her then they can have more than one passenger that is under 18 years of age.
- The teenage driver with a Class G license is able to drive with more than one person who is under age 18 if the other occupants are the driver's siblings.
The teenager moves on..... Class M Permit/Drivers License
Once the teenager has driven for 6 months and has not been involved in any car accidents, the teenager can drive unrestricted until they are 18 years of age. At that time, when they turn 18, they would then get another license.... Class D, which is the ultimate unrestricted license in Arizona.
The above is just some information on teenage driving in Arizona. There of course are a lot more statistics out there to show that teenager drivers are part of a substantial amount of car accidents in Arizona. It is important to make sure that if you have a teenage driver that you are aware that teenage drivers have to be careful and are mor elikely than other drivers to be involved in a car crash. Here's to happy and safe travellings for you and your teenage driver!
