Teen Driving Statistics

Teen Driver Statistics

Driving a car is a huge responsibility. Both you and your teen driver should be aware of the following statistics as a precaution to the dangers, pitfalls and leading causes of injuries and fatalities on the road. Most teenagers feel invincible. There’s no room on the road for a ‘this can’t happen to me’ attitude. It can and does happen all too often.

Statistics

• In 2006, 8,000 people died in car crashes involving teen drivers; more than 5,000 were teen drivers and other children. That number has remained constant for a decade. (National Safety Council)
  
  
• The #1 cause of death for 15 – 20 year olds is in a car collision. (National Highway Safety Administration).
  
  
• Teenagers between 16 and 19 years old are more likely to die or be injured in an automobile accident than any other cause according to an article entitled, “How Well Do Parents Manage Young Driver Risks” from the Journal of Safety Research.
  
  
• In a survey conducted by the Allstate Foundation in 2005 of teens between the ages of 15 and 17:
  
  
  • 56% use cell phones while driving
  • 69% say they speed to keep up with traffic
  • 64% say they speed to go through a yellow light
  • 47% say they are sometimes distracted by passengers
    
    
• The National Safety Council indicates that 90% of parents do not go back in the car with their teen after they pass their driving test to see how they’re doing.
  
  
• 16 and 17 year old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger in the car. The Institute for Highway Safety indicates that for 16 and 17 year olds carrying just one passenger increases the crash risk by about 50%.
  
  
• 53% of teen driver deaths occur on the weekend. (NHTSA)
  
  
• Nearly two thirds of teens killed in car crashes were not wearing seat belts. (NHTA).
  
  
• Due to the criticality of teen driving safety issues in the U.S., almost all states have instituted some form of a Graduated Licensing Program (Council on State Legislature).
  
  
• One in five 16 year old males and one in ten 16 year old girls will have a driving accident during their first year of driving. (NHTSA)