Wrong Way Teen Driver- Inexperienced or Distracted?

Authorities are investigating whether or not a teen driver who was driving the wrong way on a Utah highway was distracted or merely inexperienced.

Head on collision

A 16 year old Utah teenager was the driver of an SUV which was involved in an accident in Herriman on Saturday evening. The teenager was driving the wrong way (traveling north in a southbound lane) on Herriman highway with a friend when he collided head-on with a minivan carrying a mother, father, and five children.

No fatalities

That section of Herriman Highway is known as the Mountain View Corridor, and posted speeds through that area are 55 mph. With both vehicles determined to have been traveling at the posted speed limit, a head on collision would be the equivalent of hitting a brick wall while going 110 miles an hour. Although both vehicles were totaled in the accident, neither the drivers nor the 7 passengers involved were killed.

Inexperienced or distracted

Authorities are trying to figure out why the teen driver was going the wrong way on the highway prior to the crash. Drugs and alcohol were ruled out and no cell phone or GPS usage was reported, yet the possibility of distracted driving has not been eliminated. When it comes to teen drivers, due to their inexperience, almost anything that takes place inside or outside the vehicle could distract the driver; but when is it considered a crime?

Careless or Distracted Driving

Utah Code 41-6a-1715 defines some cases of distracted driving as careless such as when an accident or moving violation occurs because a driver was “searching for an item in the vehicle; or attending to person hygiene or grooming.” A charge of careless driving is a class C misdemeanor, the same penalty if a driver is caught using a handheld wireless communication device, regardless if an accident or moving violation occurs. While teens may be the cause of many crashes, it does not always mean they did something wrong. If a teen has been involved in an accident, contact a juvenile defense attorney to ensure no charges are issued for them simply being an inexperienced driver.