A bill that places restrictions on teen drivers has advanced in the Arizona Senate.
“The message is clear that when you are talking about teenagers, they are children and they are still learning. And it is very important that children have some parameters when they are first beginning to drive. So (we have to) make sure that they know what they are doing before they take other people’s children in the car,” said Sen. Barbara Leff, R-11, referring to her bill, S1347.
The bill was passed 23-6 during third reading on Feb. 19. It now goes to the House.
Under the measure, a person under 18 would not be allowed to drive between midnight and 5 a.m. unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian for the six months after getting a Class G license.
A teenage driver is also prohibited from taking more than one passenger, unless they are siblings or the driver is accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
If it passes in its current form, a driver would have to be stopped for another offense before being cited.
The bill allows teens to drive without being cited if they can present a notarized letter from parents or school or religious officials proving they are on their way to, or coming from, an event.
“It is a very reasonable approach. Other states—all but five states—have these laws on the books. They are very similar laws and the teenagers are doing just fine. This is just a measure to make sure that teenagers have some more experiences before they can do everything that an adult can do,” Leff said.
In voting against the bill, Sen. Pamela Gorman, R-6, raised the same objection she made in committee.
Gorman had noted the distinction the bill made between related and unrelated teenagers, allowing the former to ride together but not the latter.
“I feel that if we are intellectually honest and if we believe that it’s safe for related teenagers to ride together, we have to also believe that it’s safe for unrelated, responsible teenagers to ride together,” she during the floor session.
Sen. Debbie McCune Davis, D-14, said adolescent driving has many risks and that as a parent of four children, she feels “this is the right thing to do.”
She joined 22 other senators from both sides of the political aisle in approving the bill.