Teenagers’ excitement over getting their driver’s licenses is understandable, but parents worry about teenage car driver wrongful death car accidents.  Driving is a rite of passage, but it also is just about the most dangerous thing a teenager can do.

Indiana’s current teenage driver laws do provide a safe environment to learn how to drive.  The new law would make it easier for teen drivers to avoid car accidents.

Our car accident lawyers believe experience is crucial when it comes to driving, and studies have shown that what is even more important is maturity.  The car accident rate of teenage drivers is 10 times that of drivers between the ages of 30 and 60.  Neurological development is incomplete in teens, making them more susceptible to distraction than adults causing more car accidents involving teenagers.  Time behind the wheel cannot make up for immaturity, but it can help to prepare a young person to respond to a wide variety of situations.

The Indiana state drivers license law (SB 16) would allow a person to get a learner’s permit at age 15 1/2.  Teen drivers would have to wait until they’re 16 1/2 to get a license if they’ve taken a driver’s education class, or 17 if they have not.

The bill would require learning drivers to obtain at least 50 hours of practice, including 10 hours at night, with a parent or other licensed adult 25 or older.  It would ban newly-licensed auto drivers younger than 18 from late-night driving and driving with passengers for six months. SB 16 also would ban those younger than age 18 from using cell phones while operating an automobile or other vehicle.

As car accident attorneys, too often do we deal with teenager-related accidents.  We believe that Indiana’s new car drivers license and teen driver law is a good start in protecting not only teenagers but everyone on the road from the dangers of unsafe driving.

Hopefully, other states will follow Indiana’s example in keeping our roads safer for everyone — including teenage drivers.

Please contact us for a free consultation with an experienced car accident attorney — we speak both English and Spanish — at (800) 655-6585.  Click here and you may also submit your case for a Free Review.  No fee if no recovery.