Traffic Safety Facts

From the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15-to-20-year-olds.
For every teen killed in a motor vehicle crash, more than 100 are injured.
In 1998, the estimated economic cost of police-reported crashes involving drivers between 15 and 20 years old was $31.8 billion.
Crash rates of teen drivers on a per-mile basis are four to eight times higher than those of older drivers.
Sixteen-year-olds have the highest crash risk of any age group.

From the Institute for Highway Safety

Crashes involving teen drivers are more likely to involve a single vehicle, driver error, and speeding than those involving any other age group.
64% of motor vehicle deaths among teen passengers aged 13-19 occurred when other teenagers were driving.
The presence of one male passenger almost doubles the death rate per 1,000 crashes for both male and female teen drivers, and two or more male passengers more than double it; risks are much lower when passengers are female.

From the American Academy of Pediatrics

Motor vehicle-related crashes are the leading cause of death in youths from 15 through 20 years of age, resulting in more than 5000 such deaths annually. This age group constitutes only 7% of the U.S. population, yet accounts for 14% of all motor vehicle-related deaths.
Youth 16 through 19 years of age constitute 5% of all licensed drivers and 3% of all vehicle miles traveled, yet teenage drivers are involved in 15% of the crashes in which they or other occupants are killed.
The motor vehicle fatality rate of teenagers is higher than that of any other age group; on a per-mile-driven basis, 16-year-old drivers are more than 20 times as likely to have a crash as is the general population of drivers, and 17-year-old drivers are more than six times as likely.
Young men are at especially high risk, having nearly twice the risk of fatality as young women.
For every adolescent killed in a motor vehicle crash, about 100 nonfatal injuries occur.
Crashes are a leading cause of disability related to head and spinal cord injury in this age group.

Five principal reasons are commonly cited for adolescents increased risk of crashing and motor vehicle-related injury:

Lack of driving experience - compared with experienced drivers, adolescents are less proficient in detecting and responding to hazards, controlling the vehicle, and integrating speed.
Teens' driving habits and risk-taking behavior may be particularly influenced by emotions, peer group pressure and other stresses.
Nighttime driving is inherently more difficult and challenging for novice drivers - a teenager is more than four times as likely to be killed while driving at night than during the day.
The use of alcohol and drugs by adolescents puts them at particularly great risk - alcohol use plays a role in about one third of all fatal crashes involving teens.
The low rate of safety belt use by teens increases their risk of injury in a crash - an unbelted teenage occupant involved in a severe crash has three times the risk of injury of a belted occupant.

Most Popular Stories