Question: Is joyriding different from actually stealing a car?
Answer: 'Joyriding' is what lawyers call unlawful use of a means of transportation. In other words, someone uses a car or motorcycle without permission of the owner. A typical example would be a kid who sneaks out of the house at night and drives a parent's car without the parent's knowledge. Another example would be for the kid to take a car he finds in a parking lot, simply to drive it around, without intending to deprive the owner of use of the car permanently. This is a class 5 felony. If you are a passenger in a car that you know is being used unlawfully, the offense is a class 6 felony. Both types of unlawful use carry a mandatory license suspension until the person who took the car turns 18 years of age. See A.R.S. § Section 13-1803 for the definition of the offenses, and A.R.S. § 28-3320 for the license suspension.
Theft of a car, on the other hand, either means someone took a car without permission, and with the intent to deprive the owner of it permanently. Or someone kept a car after the period during which the owner let him use the car. Or someone took a car knowing someone else had stolen it. This carries the same license suspension provision as unlawful use of a means of transportation. However, this offense is a class 3 (more serious) felony. See A.R.S. § 13-1814 for the definition of this offense.
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