Advocates has urged members on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the Arizona House of Representatives to oppose House Bill (HB) 2003. This measure will reduce the minimum age for instruction permits by six months to 15 years old. In doing so, it will erode the graduated driver licensing (GDL) law and threaten the safety of novice teen drivers and all who share the roads with them.
Traffic fatalities in Arizona have increased over the past decade. In 2024, there were an overall estimated 1,2501 traffic fatalities in Arizona according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is a 39 percent increase since 2015. Fatal crashes involving drivers ages 15-20 went up 119 percent from 2014 to 2023. Especially considering this deadly upturn, the state’s GDL law should be improved rather than weakened.
Read the full letter here.