Utah News

In Utah, the minimum age to receive a driver’s license is currently 16 years old, but that could soon be changing.

Rep. Nicholeen Peck, R-Tooele, has introduced a bill, HB464, in the Utah Legislature that would lower the minimum age for obtaining a driver’s license to 15 years and 6 months.

Peck shared that she got the idea for the bill from a constituent, a student from Tooele Junior High School. That student had reached out to Peck and scheduled a meeting with her to present her idea.

“She had all of the research laid out about it, and she had checked into all these different states and accidents rates and everything, and she had done so many things,” Peck told the Deseret News. “I was so impressed, and she was like, ‘This is what I would like to do.’”

The representative added that this constituent brought the issue to her over a year ago, so she is now old enough she would no longer be impacted by the bill. That student was passionate about this issue because she felt that she and her classmates were ready to drive at a younger age.

The bill also addresses the amount of driving practice hours required, as well as the ability for parents to conduct drivers education at home.

When asked about the bill during Wednesday’s Senate media availability, Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, shared that he was driving long before he reached the legal age to get his license.

“We’re outside the statute of limitations,” he said. “I learned to drive, seeing between the dashboard and the steering wheel.”

What would the bill do?

Under HB464, teenagers would be able to obtain a driver’s license starting when they are 15 years and 6 months old. It would also lower the minimum age for a learner’s permit to 14 years and 6 months.

It would also allow parents to provide and fulfill the drivers education requirements for their children. The materials are already available through the Driver License Division, but this bill would allow those materials to be used by parents.

Peck clarified that while parents can teach the drivers education material to their children, they would not be able to conduct the required tests, such as the road exam. She said that there were multiple people in her community who asked for the ability to do this.

The representative said that because her children were homeschooled, they did drivers education through a third party. She added that they didn’t have a great experience with that.

“I don’t even know if they always paid attention, but if I would have been there doing it with them, I think that would have been actually a really positive experience, and actually maybe even parents could become better drivers,” she said.

Currently, young drivers with their learner’s permits are required to reach 40 practice hours; the bill would raise that to 60 hours. Peck said this provision would add more safety around younger drivers.

“The longer a person has to have practice time before they’re actually legally licensed on the road, the less accidents they have when they’re teens,” the representative said.

Safety concerns about more young drivers on the road

When the bill was discussed during Senate media availability, Sen. Mike McKell responded with concern as a “car accident” attorney.

He said that he sees a lot of accidents, and a disproportionate number of those involve young drivers.

“I’m just speaking on my behalf, that would make me really nervous,” he said about the possibility of lowering the minimum driver’s license age.

Data from the Utah Department of Public Safety shows that there have been at least 6,000 crashes involving teen drivers each year since 2016. Teen drivers are defined as being between the ages of 15 and 17 years old.

In 2024, there were 6,574 teen driver crashes with 815 minor injuries, 110 serious injuries and 10 fatalities. Preliminary data shows that in 2025, there were 6,148 teen driver crashes with 780 minor injures, 150 serious injuries and 18 fatalities.

Peck said that there are other states that have these younger age minimums and it is not causing them any issues.

In Idaho and Montana, teenagers can obtain their license at age 15, and in New Mexico and South Carolina, the minimum age is 15 years and 6 months. The youngest age allowed for getting a license is South Dakota, where teenagers can drive without a parent at age 14 years and 6 months.

Peck said she doesn’t have any concerns about increased safety risks with younger drivers on the road. She believes this will help the teenagers learn more responsibility at a younger age.

“I love the idea of them taking an adult step a little bit sooner, so that they can start taking on more of that responsibility and think of themselves as, I gotta grow up, I gotta be an adult,” Peck said.

The representative added that she started teaching her kids how to drive on their private property before they received their learner’s permits.

“I feel like it was a thing that helped increase their confidence in who they were, to learn an adult skill like that,” Peck said.

In the end, the parents get to decide when their kids get to start driving.

Rep. Peck expects to have many conversations about this bill

Peck said she believes this bill will be “juicy” and spur a lot of conversation and discussions. She expects to hear about it from her fellow lawmakers.

“There’s a lot of people wanting to have a conversation about it, and I’m just doing it because a constituent said, ‘Will you do this for me? Rep. Peck, can I help you on a bill?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’”

Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said that if the bill makes it out of the House and into the Senate, they will be having “robust discussions” about it.

Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, also responded to the news about the bill.

“I can tell you this, my grandkids in middle school are very excited for that bill,” Harper said.

Diop scores 15, Johnson 14 and Odum 13 to help Arizona St. beat Utah 71-63

— Massamba Diop had 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, Anthony Johnson added 14 points, and Arizona State beat Utah 71-63 on Wednesday night.

Feb 4, 2026, 11:35 pm – AP

The Senior Bowl was last week, and the Arizona Cardinals now have a new head coach. We can now begin to firmly look ahead toward the NFL draft.

NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks released a new mock draft of the first round.

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The Cardinals have the third overall pick, and he has them going with an offensive lineman.

Arizona Cardinals, Round 1, pick No. 3: Utah OL Spencer Fano

The Cardinals must determine if Kyler Murray remains the franchise quarterback. If his time in the desert is indeed done, as many have speculated, the lack of QB depth in the 2026 draft class could prompt the team to look elsewhere for help at the game’s most important position. In this case, Arizona adds a foundational piece to its struggling offensive line, which contributed to a 38.7% pressure allowed rate — the fourth-highest mark in the league in 2025, per Next Gen Stats.

This pick makes sense. The Cardinals need to figure out the quarterback situation, but they won’t likely be selecting one in the first round. They have questions at as many as four starting spots on the offensive line, so landing Fano to lock down right tackle would be a great plan to pair with Paris Johnson.

However, while the pick makes sense, it would mean breaking from a three-year trend. The Cardinals have only selected players from the SEC and Big Ten in the first and second rounds in three years with Monti Ossenfort as general manager.

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Knowing that, someone like linebacker Arvell Reese out of Ohio State makes sense, but he goes second overall in these projections.

Ossenfort obviously could break from his tradition, but it will be something to watch as we approach the draft in the mweeks to come.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL mock draft: Arizona Cardinals land Utah OL Spencer Fano

The Salt Lake City & County Building in Salt Lake City is pictured on Wednesday, January 3, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Utah Republican lawmakers are running legislation directing Salt Lake City to make changes to city roads with state oversight for a second year. The action, included in an extensive transportation bill, may have an impact on recently installed bike and bus lanes, but may also change how the state supervises city streets. 

It also brought back chatter about the state potentially exerting more control over local governments, especially in Democrat-led Salt Lake City.

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The bill, sponsored by Taylorsville Republican Sen. Wayne Harper, mandates that Salt Lake City enter an agreement with the Utah Department of Transportation before implementing programs designed to reduce the amount of cars travelling on a highway. The city must also submit plans to “mitigate the impacts of traffic calming measures and highway reduction strategies previously implemented” on different downtown roads, including 300 West, 200 South and 400 South. 

Harper emphasized the word “mitigate” when speaking to reporters on Wednesday about the potential removal of bike and bus lanes. 

“The request that I’ve gotten is to have Salt Lake City to go through and take a look at all that they’ve done — and they’re amenable to this — take a look and see what’s working good with that,” Harper said. “And are there some negative things that they can go through and tweak in order to make it so that safety is enhanced?”

That request, he said, comes from businesses that have complained about limited access to their facilities caused by traffic mitigation tools the city has installed.

Before Jan 1, 2027, Salt Lake City and UDOT must also agree on the designation of street tiers, going from regionally significant highways to the lowest-volume residential roads. 

The first tier, which would have the highest traffic, would be blocked from city-led highway reduction strategies, while tier two roads could qualify for programs to reduce the amount of cars travelling on a highway, but only after completing certain studies and receiving a nod from UDOT. 

Let us know what you think…

To a question on whether the legislation would feed the perception of a state takeover of the city’s say on its streets, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said lawmakers are “simply responding to constituents.” 

For Adams, capital cities are different, since not everyone who works in them lives within their boundaries. 

“The capital city is a spot where people gather. So we need to make sure (for) those coming (that) it could function,” he told reporters.

The plans are also timely, he said, as downtown undergoes revitalization plans for 100 acres adjacent to the Delta Center.

“We’ve committed a lot of resources, so I think it’s in our best interest to make sure those resources function well, and the city functions right,” Adams said. 

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a statement the city is committed to partnering with the state, UDOT and the Utah Transit Authority to support a strong regional transportation network serving everyone.

“Although we believe this goal can be achieved without additional legislation, we appreciate the Legislature’s willingness to collaborate and believe we have identified solutions that serve all stakeholders,” Mendenhall said.

Nothing in the bill says the bike and bus lanes must be removed, Harper said, “they just have to make sure that it is not causing an impediment to the pedestrians, the bicyclists, or to the drivers that would deteriorate safety.”

And Salt Lake City leaders are committed to making changes, Harper said, a fact Mendenhall confirmed.

“I would characterize the discussions as good faith and collaborative. I am appreciative of them,” Mendenhall said.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

For the first time since the 2022 offseason when they parted ways with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the Utah Jazz are making headlines for being a party in a blockbuster trade, as, on Tuesday, they packaged Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang and three future first-round picks to obtain the services of Jaren Jackson Jr. (among others).

From a value perspective, this seems like a fair price to pay for a multi-time All-Star. Anderson and Niang seem like cool dudes, but they are functionally matching salary at this point in time. Hendricks (age 22) wasn’t getting consistent tick on a 15-35 team, so it didn’t seem like he factored too heavily into their long-term plans anyway. Clayton seems to have the makeup of a long-time NBA rotation player, but the strides taken by Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier made him easily expendable. And while the third first round picks seems excessive, don’t forget that just seven months ago the Orlando Magic had to part with four of those to land Jackson’s less-accomplished former teammate.

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But just because a trade is a win in isolation doesn’t mean it necessarily pushes your franchise in the right direction. How does Jackson fit in with what the Jazz have spent the last four years building? And does he bring them one step closer to contention?

How Jaren Jackson Jr. Fits On The Current Utah Jazz

With the Jazz needing to finish in the top eight in the Draft Lottery to keep their 2026 first round pick, they probably aren’t in the business of winning too many games for the remainder of the season. Before being moved, Jackson was dealing with a quad injury that kept him out of their Saturday loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to milk nagging injuries like that to sit him out and keep him from unnecessarily contributing to wins.

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Still, while draft capital is important, you also need to build a culture of winning. In 2020-21, the 23-49 Minnesota Timberwolves famously won 6 of their last 11 games. Doing this cost them their first round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft (which ended up being Jonathan Kuminga), but they also haven’t missed the playoffs since.

Jackson – a former Defensive Player of the Year – automatically gives the Jazz a defensive building block. Utah is going on their third straight season as the worst defense in the entire NBA. Jackson’s defensive footprint isn’t as mighty as it was when he took home the DPOY award in 2022-23, but that can mainly be explained by the increased offensive load that his team’s myriad of injuries forced him to endure. Now that he has two new reliable co-stars both averaging over 24 PPG (George and Lauri Markkanen), Jackson can focus on returning to his defensive roots.

How Does Jaren Jackson Jr. Align With The Utah Jazz’s Future?

Of course, the real reason a team that is 20 games under .500 makes a move like this is with an eye toward the future.

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To understand the scope of having both Jackson and Markkanen on the roster, think about two of the league’s most exciting rising stars: Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama. What makes them so exciting is their rare combination of size and skill. That’s the same reason why everyone and their mothers was trying to pry Markkanen from the Jazz when they looked directionless.

Now, the Jazz have two of these unicorns. Think about the endless possibilities this creates for the Jazz and their mad scientist head coach, Will Hardy. With Markkanen and Jackson as your four and five, you have two giants who can space the floor (both career 35.9% 3-point shooters), score in the paint, and put the ball on the floor. Jackson can make up for Markkanen’s rim protection limitations, and Markkanen’s off-ball gravity will create openings for Jackson that he’s never had before. This is all without getting into all the big-to-big actions Hardy can run involving these two.

Thanks to their shooting and ball skill, the idea of starting them at the three and four is tenable when Walker Kessler returns from his torn labrum next season. In 2021-22, when Markkanen shared the floor with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ twin towers (Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen), the team had a +7.9 net rating in 621 minutes (per PBP Stats). Jackson is a better shooter than both of those guys were, so the fit between him, Markkanen, and Kessler should be even more seamless.

George has been one of the most improved players in the league this season. Collier has gone from one of the least efficient players in the association to someone who can be counted on to bolster second units when George is on the bench (57.2% true shooting, 49th percentile). Ace Bailey is your typical rookie. So, his advanced stats look terrible and his tape is littered with learning experiences, but the dude is just 19 years old, huge (6’9 with a 7’0.5 wingspan), can score with the best of them, and has had some nice moments as a cutter in Hardy’s movement-heavy offense (1st in assist percentage).

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Utah still has an extreme case of the hour glass problem. They have drafted some great guards, and this Jackson trade solidifies their big man rotation for the next half decade. But they still need a couple wings to truly field a complete roster.

Even without any offseason moves, a healthy version of the Jazz will compete for a playoff spot in the loaded Western Conference in 2026-27. And if they can find the right wing (or two) to compliment all these tantalizing pieces, Utah may be back on the map a lot sooner than we expected.

Abilene Christian Wildcats (10-11, 2-6 WAC) at Utah Valley Wolverines (16-6, 6-3 WAC)

Orem, Utah; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Utah Valley takes on Abilene Christian after Trevan Leonhardt scored 20 points in Utah Valley’s 83-55 win over the Tarleton State Texans.

The Wolverines have gone 10-0 in home games. Utah Valley averages 19.3 assists per game to lead the WAC, paced by Leonhardt with 6.0.

The Wildcats are 2-6 against WAC opponents. Abilene Christian ranks seventh in the WAC with 18.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Bradyn Hubbard averaging 3.6.

Utah Valley’s average of 7.0 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.9 more made shots on average than the 6.1 per game Abilene Christian allows. Abilene Christian has shot at a 44.7% clip from the field this season, 4.1 percentage points higher than the 40.6% shooting opponents of Utah Valley have averaged.

The Wolverines and Wildcats square off Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Tyler Hendricks averages 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Wolverines, scoring 11.6 points while shooting 45.5% from beyond the arc. Jackson Holcombe is shooting 52.0% and averaging 17.0 points over the last 10 games.

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Hubbard is scoring 15.5 points per game and averaging 4.8 rebounds for the Wildcats. Rich Smith is averaging 14.1 points and 4.0 rebounds over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wolverines: 7-3, averaging 83.2 points, 35.6 rebounds, 18.8 assists, 9.0 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 50.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.3 points per game.

Wildcats: 3-7, averaging 70.3 points, 24.5 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 9.4 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

UT Arlington Mavericks (14-7, 6-3 WAC) at Utah Tech Trailblazers (13-11, 6-4 WAC)

Saint George, Utah; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Utah Tech hosts UT Arlington after Noah Bolanga scored 23 points in Utah Tech’s 65-59 win over the Tarleton State Texans.

The Trailblazers have gone 7-2 in home games. Utah Tech is seventh in the WAC with 8.7 offensive rebounds per game led by Ethan Potter averaging 2.5.

The Mavericks have gone 6-3 against WAC opponents. UT Arlington has a 1-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

Utah Tech averages 76.6 points, 10.4 more per game than the 66.2 UT Arlington gives up. UT Arlington has shot at a 44.6% rate from the field this season, 0.8 percentage points higher than the 43.8% shooting opponents of Utah Tech have averaged.

The Trailblazers and Mavericks square off Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jusaun Holt is averaging 10.6 points and 3.3 assists for the Trailblazers. Potter is averaging 14.9 points over the last 10 games.

Marcell McCreary averages 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Mavericks, scoring 13.9 points while shooting 36.0% from beyond the arc. Raysean Seamster is averaging 11.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and two steals over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Trailblazers: 6-4, averaging 74.1 points, 30.2 rebounds, 15.8 assists, 7.9 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 46.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.6 points per game.

Mavericks: 7-3, averaging 72.1 points, 34.8 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 7.8 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 42.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.