Teenage drivers

One of the most exciting events in a teenager's life is also the most deadliest.

What every parent should know but is often afraid to know

 

Information provided by:
Insurance Institute for Highway safety
and Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association


In 2007, the latest year for which data are available, motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death among 13-19 year-old males and females in the United States.

• A total of 3,466 teenagers ages 13-19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2009. This is 60 percent fewer than in 1975 and 15 percent fewer than in 2008. 
• Thirty-three percent of deaths among 13-19-year-olds occurred in motor vehicle crashes, 39 percent among females and 31 percent among males.
• 16-year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age.
• The crash rate per mile driven is twice as high for 16-year-olds as it is for 18- and 19-year-olds.
• About 2 out of every 3 teenagers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2009 were males.
• Sixty percent of teenage passenger deaths in 2009 occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager. Among deaths of passengers of all ages, 18 percent occurred when a teenager was driving.
• Statistics show that 16- and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.
• Eighty-three percent of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths in 2009 were passenger vehicle occupants. The others were pedestrians (7 percent), motorcyclists (4 percent), bicyclists (2 percent), riders of all-terrain vehicles (2 percent), and people in other kinds of vehicles (2 percent).
• Fifty-five percent of motor vehicle crash deaths among teenagers in 2009 occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
• In states with GDL programs that include at least five of the most important elements, there was a 20% reduction in fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers.
• In 2006 (latest data available) crashes involving 15- to 17-year-olds cost more than $34 billion nationwide in medical treatment, property damage and other costs, according to an AAA analysis.

How do teenage crashes differ from those of other drivers
According to the IIHS
Analyses of fatal crash data indicate that crashes of teenage drivers are more likely to be attributed to driver error. Teenagers' fatal crashes are more likely to involve speeding than those of older drivers, and teenagers are more likely than drivers of other ages to be in single-vehicle fatal crashes. Plus teenagers do more of their driving in small and older cars and at night, compared with adults. In 2010, 17 percent of teenagers' fatalities occurred between 9 p.m. and midnight, and 24 percent occurred between midnight and 6 a.m. Fifty-five percent of teenagers' fatalities occurred on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

The more you know, the more prepared you are the safer your child will be.  Colorado Car Wreck would rather not meet you under these circumstance but should you ever need us we will be there to help you.

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