Teen Driving Statistics

As a parent, if you search for any information about- In 2000, 6,495 people between the ages of 15 and
Teen Driving Statistics you will find statistics similar to20 were killed in motor vehicle crashes—the leading
those below. I have reviewed various websites tocause of death for this age group. And although young
summarize the information from these sources,drivers represent only 6.6% of the nation's licensed
however, please feel free to search the web fordrivers, they are involved in 14.8% of fatal crashes.
“teen driving statistics” for more websites andThe National Safety Council urges all parents to
information on this subject.familiarize themselves with the risks associated with
The information allows us to ponder if teen drivingyoung, inexperienced drivers.
needs to be revisited on a national level. How are teen- Traffic crashes are the number one cause of death
drivers being educated by driving schools? Do weamong children and young adults.
need to increase the amount of time for driver- More than 3,800 young drivers age 15-20 are killed
training? How about requiring higher levels of carevery year in traffic crashes.
driving education (not just traffic education, but how do- More than 326,000 young drivers are injured.
drive a car education)? Should driver’s licenses- Young drivers are involved in fatal traffic crashes at
only be issued at age 18? What are the economicover twice the rate as the rest of the population.
implications to increasing the driving age? We will visit- Exceeding the posted speed limit or driving at an
these questions in the next article. For now we needunsafe speed is the most common error in fatal
to understand what is happening on our roads today.accidents.
We know that the current requirements for driver- About 30% of crashes killing young drivers involve
education are not sufficient. Both commercially and byalcohol.
parents. We can add that a younger age teen is not- More than 1,000 young drivers lose their lives every
mature enough to control a vehicle and might as wellyear in crashes because of an impaired driver... be it
be considered to be driving a deadly weapon. Teensthemselves, or someone else.
with permit licenses are driving with their parents in anSean Mullsteff Teen Driving Foundation
unmarked family vehicle only increase the likelihood of- The number one cause of death for 15-20 year olds
accidents. Using car magnets that are thick, reflectiveis car collisions.
for the night and are durable can help reduce this- This age group makes up 7% of licensed drivers, but
likelihood. These types of auto safety magnets can besuffers 14% of fatalities and 20% of all reported
found at Auto Safety Magnets. Identifying thesecollisions.
almost 2 million vehicles on the road should be a- 53% of teen driver deaths occur on weekends.
requirement on a national level.- Teen drivers killed in motor vehicle collisions had a
As parents we must take the responsibility ofyouth passenger in the automobile 45% of the time.
protecting our children. Should you reconsider your- In 2002, The National Center for Statistics and
decision the next time your teen asks to take the car?Analysis reported that 8,278 adolescents (ages 15-20)
The Facts from reliable Sourceswere involved in fatal crashes.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration- 324,000 teens were injured in collisions in 2002.
In 2003, 3,657 (3,827 in 2002) drivers 15 to 20 years old- 65% of teen passenger deaths occur with a teen
were killed, and an additional 308,000 (324,000 in 2002)driving.
were injured, in motor vehicle crashes. Nearly 31- Teen lifestyle of staying up late make teen drivers a
percent of teen drivers killed in motor vehicle crasheshigh risk to have an automobile collision due to
in 2003 had been drinking and 74 percent of this groupdrowsiness.
was not wearing their safety belts.- More than any age group, teens are likely to be
National Safety Councilinvolved in a single vehicle crash.