Teenage Drivers
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TEENAGE DRIVERS
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year olds. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3,490 drivers in this age group died and 272,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2006. Drivers age 15 to 20 accounted for 12.9 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in all police-reported crashes. Twenty-five percent of teen drivers killed were intoxicated. In 2002 the estimated economic cost of police-reported crashes involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 was $40.8 billion, according to latest information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Among licensed drivers, young people between the ages of 15 and 20 have the highest rate of fatal crashes relative to other age groups, including the elderly. The risk of being involved in a fatal crash for teens is three times greater than for drivers age 65 to 69.
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DRIVERS IN MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES BY AGE, 2006
Age group |
Number of licensed drivers |
Percent of total |
Drivers in fatal crashes |
Involvement rate (1) |
Drivers in all crashes |
Involvement rate (1) |
| Under 16 | 211,351 | 0.1% | 275 | NA | 151,000 | NA |
| 16 to20 | 12,778,636 | 6.3 | 7,286 | 57.02 | 1,600,000 | 12,522 |
| 21 to 24 | 17,061,951 | 8.4 | 6,454 | 46.77 | 1,127,000 | 8,168 |
| 25 to 34 | 35,494,949 | 17.5 | 11,223 | 31.62 | 2,130,000 | 6,001 |
| 35 to 44 | 39,998,816 | 19.7 | 10,310 | 25.78 | 1,968,000 | 4,920 |
| 45 to 54 | 40,462,007 | 20.0 | 9,201 | 22.74 | 1,805,000 | 4,460 |
| 55 to 64 | 29,929,733 | 14.8 | 5,864 | 19.59 | 983,000 | 3,283 |
| 65 to 74 | 17,009,811 | 8.4 | 3,022 | 17.77 | 468,000 | 2,752 |
| Over 74 | 13,125,655 | 6.5 | 2,954 | 22.50 | 326,000 | 2,481 |
| Total | 202,810,438 | 100.0% | 57,695 (2) | 28.45 | 10,558,000 | 5,206 |
(1) Per 100,000 licensed drivers.
(2) Includes 1,065 drivers of unknown age.
NA=Not applicable.
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Federal Highway Administration. |
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MOTOR VEHICLE DEATHS
PER 100,000 PERSONS BY AGE, 2006
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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PERCENT OF ALCOHOL-IMPAIRED DRIVERS IN FATAL CRASHES BY AGE, 1997 AND 2007 (1)
| - The percentage of 21 to 24 year old drivers in fatal crashes who were alcohol-impaired rose from 30 percent in 1997 to 35 percent in 2007, the biggest increase by age over the ten-year period.
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