Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet

 
Overview

Two out of five deaths among U.S. teens are the result of a motor vehicle crash (IIHS 2003).  
   

Occurrence and Consequences

• In 2001, more than 4,700 teens ages 16 to 19 died of injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes (CDC 2003).
   
• The risk for motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash (NHTSA 2002).
   
• Teenagers represented 10% of the U.S. population in 2000 and accounted for 14% of all motor vehicle–related deaths (IIHS 2003).
   
• The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk for unsupervised teen drivers; the risk increases with the number of teen passengers (Chen 2000).

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Cost

In 2002, the estimated economic cost of police-reported crashes (both fatal and nonfatal) involving drivers ages 15 to 20 was $40.8 billion (NHTSA 2003).
 

Groups at Risk

• In 2001, the motor vehicle death rate for male occupants age 16 to 19 was nearly twice that of their female counterparts (19.7 per 100,000 compared with 10.4 per 100,000) (CDC 2003).
    
• Crash risk is particularly high during the first years that teenagers are eligible to drive (IIHS 2003). 

 
Risk Factors

• Teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate the dangers in hazardous situations, and they have less experience coping with such situations (Jonah 1987).
   
• Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed, run red lights, make illegal turns, ride with an intoxicated driver, and drive after using alcohol or drugs. (Jonah 1987).
   
• Compared with other age groups, teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use.  In 2001, 14% of high school students reported they rarely or never wear seat belts when riding with someone else (CDC 2002b).  
   
  • Male high school students (18%) were more likely than female students (10%) to rarely or never wear seat belts (CDC 2002).  
     
  • African American students (16%) were more likely than white students (14%) to rarely or never wear seat belts (CDC 2002).  
    

• At all levels of blood alcohol concentration, the risk of being involved in a motor vehicle crash is greater for teens than for drivers who are older (IIHS 2000).  
   

  • In 2002, 29% of drivers ages 15 to 20 who died in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking alcohol (NHTSA 2003).
     

  • Analysis of data from 1991–1997 found that, consistently, more than one in three teens reported they had ridden with a driver who had been drinking alcohol in the past month.  One in six reported having driven after drinking alcohol within the same one-month time period (Everett 2001).  
     

  • In 2002, among teen drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes after drinking and driving, 77% were unrestrained (NHTSA 2003).  
     

• In 2001, 43% of the teen motor vehicle deaths occurred between 9 pm and 6 am (IIHS 2003).

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Resource

The Guide to Community Preventive Services
Offers recommendations about motor vehicle injury prevention issued by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services.

   
References  

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. (2003). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (producer). Available from: URL: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars . [Cited 12 Nov 2003].

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2001. MMWR Surveillance Summaries 2002;51(SS-04):1–64.

Chen L, Baker SP, Braver ER, Li G.  Carrying passengers as a risk factor for crashes fatal to 16- and 17-year old drivers. JAMA 2000;283(12):1578–82.

Dinh-Zarr TB, Sleet DA, Shults RA, Zaza S, Elder RW, Nichols JL, Thompson RS, Sosin DM, Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to increase use of safety belts. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2001;21(4  Suppl):48–65.

Everett SA, Shults RA, Barrios LC, Sacks JJ, Lowry R, Oeltmann J. Trends and subgroup differences in transportation-related risk and safety behaviors among high school students, 1991–1997. Journal of Adolescent Health 2001;28:228–34.

Hartos JL, Eitel P, Simons-Morton B.  Do parent-imposed delayed licensure and restricted driving reduce risky driving behaviors among newly licensed teens?  Prevention Science 2001;2(2):113–22.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Fatality Facts: Teenagers. Arlington (VA): The Institute; 2002 [cited 2003 Sept 15]. Available from: URL: www.iihs.org/safety_facts/fatality_facts/teens.htm.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Q&A Teenagers: Underage drinking.  Arlington (VA): The Institute; 2003 [cited 2003 Nov 15]. Available from: URL: www.iihs.org/safety_facts/qanda/underage.htm.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety; Traffic Injury Research Foundation.  Graduated Licensing: A blueprint for North America.  Arlington (VA): The Institute; 2002. Available from URL: http://www.iihs.org/safety_facts/teens/blueprint.pdf. 

Jonah BA, Dawson NE. Youth and risk: age differences in risky driving, risk perception, and risk utility. Alcohol, Drugs and Driving 1987;3:13–29.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Traffic Safety Facts 2002: Young drivers. Washington (DC): NHTSA;2003 [cited 2003 Sept 15]. Available from: URL: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2002/2002ydrfacts.pdf.  

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Traffic Safety Facts 2000: Speeding. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2002 [cited 2002 Apr 1]. Available from: URL: www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2000/2000spdfacts.pdf.

Shults RA, Elder RW, Sleet DA, Nichols JL, Alao MO, Carande-Kulis VG, Zaza S, Sosin DM, Thompson RS, Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Reviews of evidence regarding interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2001;21(4 Suppl) 4:66–88.

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Contact
Information

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This page last reviewed 08/05/04.

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