MESA — A state law that puts restrictions on new teenage drivers takes effect July 1 — the result of one mother's fight to make sure her daughter's death wasn't in vain.
When the law goes into effect, new drivers younger than 18 will not be allowed to drive between midnight and 5 a.m. Nor will they be allowed to have more than one teenage passenger they're not related to in the car at any time.
The restrictions will be in place for the first six months after a teenager is licensed.
"Good kids are dying out there," said Donna Oltmann, whose daughter was killed in a 2004 car crash. "If we can do anything to make it safer for them so that no other family has to get that phone call, I'm going to remain active."
Her daughter, 15-year-old Krystal Ebel, and four friends were packed into a car heading back to Dobson High School in Mesa after a lunchtime pizza party. Krystal and the driver, 16-year-old Shayna Linneen, both died after the car jumped the curb and struck a tree.
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Last year, Oltmann and a group of traffic safety activists helped lobby for passage of the new restrictions.
"Sure I'm a grieving mom," Oltmann said. "But I'm a mom who has learned so much information that I didn't care to learn throughout my life. Now that I know, I have to do something to make a change. Once you've got that information, you've got to act on it."
Before the new law, Arizona was one of five states that had no restrictions on when newly licensed teens could drive, or how many people they could have in their cars.
Now only three states will have no such limits, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a traffic safety research organization.
Traffic crashes are by far the leading cause of death for youths between the ages of 15 and 18 years old, accounting for nearly half of the deaths in that age group, according to federal statistics. In 2006, drivers between the ages of 15 and 18 were involved in almost 21,000 crashes in Arizona, resulting in 106 deaths, according to data from the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Studies conducted in other states have shown that laws limiting new teen drivers have reduced crash rates for that age group by as much as 60 percent, and reduced fatal crashes involving teen drivers by as much as 32 percent, according to figures cited by AAA.
The new law passed 50-7 in the House and was signed by Gov. Janet Napolitano last year.
Ahwatukee Foothills Rep. John McComish, a prime backer of the bill, said he expects to see reductions in teen crashes as a result of the law.
Deshaun Kendall of Chandler, who turns 16 in August, said the night-driving ban won't be much of a problem because he'll be in bed. But he said the passenger restriction means 16-year-olds will have ask their parents for more rides.
Even so, Kendall said he understands the new limits are meant to save lives.
"I don't like it for my own personal reasons," he said. "But for society's purposes, it's probably a good law."
