Learning to drive is a major rite of passage for teens. Driving and gaining some independence is fun and exciting, but there are also many risks. Many teens lack the experience necessary to be able to make the proper decision to avoid certain dangerous situations when they are behind the wheel.

Cars may have many important safety features -- seatbelts, shoulder straps, headrests, air-bags, padded dashes, safety glass, collapsible steering columns, anti-locking breaks, and a host of other less-recognized improvements, but reckless and unsafe driving practices proves to be a danger to teens.

• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers.

• 16 year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age.

• It is estimated that 16-year-olds are 3 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than the average of all drivers.

• 3,657 drivers age 15-20 died in car crashes in 2003, making up 14% of all driver involved in fatal crashes, and 18% of all drivers involved in police-reported crashes (NHTSA).

• 25% of teen drivers killed in 2003 had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or greater. A BAC of .08 is the level which all states define drunk driving.

• $40.8 billion was the estimated economic impact of auto accidents involving 15-20 year old drivers in 2002 (NHTSA).

• Inexperience behind the wheel is the leading cause of teenage crashes.

• In 2001, two thirds of teens killed in auto accidents were not wearing seat belts.

• Almost half of the crash deaths involving 16-year-old drivers in 2003 occurred when the beginning drivers were driving with teen passengers (IIHS).

• Statistics show that 16 and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger (IIHS).

• Graduated Drivers License programs appear to be making a difference. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that the overall number of 16-year-old drivers fell from 1,084 in 1993 to 938 in 2003 despite an 18% increase in the 16-year-old population.

Citations:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Dept. of Transportation (US). Traffic safety facts 2005: young drivers. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2006b [cited 2006 Nov 28]. Available from: URL: www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2005/YoungDriversTSF05.pdf.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Fatality facts: teenagers 2005. Arlington (VA): The Institute; 2006 [cited 2006 Dec 1]. Available from: URL: www.iihs.org/research/fatality_facts/teenagers.html.