Teen drivers are known to cause a higher percentage of accidents than older, more experienced drivers, but there are steps we can take to reduce the threat posed by young drivers in our state. According to a recent road safety report from a national advocacy group, Wyoming falls well behind other states in terms of legal restrictions on teen drivers.
The Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety published their annual Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws on January 20, and this report shows that Wyoming needs to get serious about keeping our teen drivers safe. This publication is put together based on data from safety groups, public health agencies, and consumer advocacy groups across the nation and serves as a "report card" to grade all 50 states and the District of Columbia on 15 basic traffic safety laws which would ideally be enacted nationwide.
The report gives statistics and information on each state, and the Wyoming section of the report says that "Wyoming falls dangerously behind in adoption of Advocates’ recommended optimal laws." Specifically, Wyoming is behind the nation in terms of GDL (graduated driver licensing) laws, which are designed to restrict teen drivers in an effort to help them learn safe driving habits over time. According to the report, 12 people died in crashes caused by teen drivers in Wyoming in 2012 and more stringent restrictions on teen drivers may have helped avoid these tragedies.
Right now, a driver must be 15 years old to obtain a learner’s permit in Wyoming, but the Advocates believe that a permit should not be obtained until after the age of 16. The Advocates also state that Wyoming needs to "strengthen the nighttime teen driving restrictions," "require a 6 month holding period during the learner’s permit stage," require drivers to wait until the age of 18 to obtain an unrestricted license, and enforce stronger cell phone restrictions for teen drivers.
Texting and operating cell phones while driving has recently been the subject of a number of driver safety campaigns by sheriffs’ offices in Wyoming. Though it is illegal for drivers of all ages to text while operating a vehicle in this state, this violation is committed by countless drivers every day in our state. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 40% of American teens admit to having felt endangered when the driver of a vehicle they were riding in was texting. Furthermore, up to 10% of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in a fatal car accident admit to texting at the time of the wreck.
Teen drivers lack the years of on-the-road experience which give many older drivers a feeling of confidence behind the wheel. Additionally, they may not have developed adequate judgment to determine when they are making unsafe decisions and endangering their own lives or those of other drivers or passengers. Unfortunately, when drivers of any age are negligent in their responsibility to act safely on the road, innocent people may suffer serious injury or even wrongful death. As an experienced car crash attorney in Wyoming, Frederick J. Harrison has the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure that negligent drivers of any age are held fully accountable for their actions. To learn more about auto accident lawsuits in Wyoming, please contact him today for a free legal consultation.
