Startling Statistics: Teenage Drivers and the Risk of Accidents
Over 200,000 teenagers are injured in car accidents every year.
The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among teens ages 16–19 than among any other age group. Teen drivers in this age group have a fatal crash rate almost three times as high as drivers ages 20 and older per mile driven.
The motor vehicle crash death rate for male drivers ages 16–19 years was three times as high as the death rate for female drivers in the same age group in 2020.
The presence of teen or young adult passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. This risk increases with each additional teen or young adult passenger.
Crash risk is particularly high during the first months of licensure.5–7 For example, data indicate that the crash rate per mile driven is about 1.5 times as high for 16-year-old drivers as it is for 18–19-year-old drive 44% of motor vehicle crash deaths among teens ages 13–19 occurred between 9 pm and 6 am, and 50% occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday in 2020.
Not Using Seat Belts:
- Teens and young adults often do not consistently wear seat belts.
- Among teen drivers and passengers 16–19 years of age who were killed in car crashes in 2020, 56%† were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.2
- 43.1% of U.S. high school students did not always wear a seat belt when riding in a car driven by someone else in 2019.12
- Data from annual studies where researchers observe people’s seat belt use in cars indicate that seat belt use in the front seat among teens and young adults (16–24 years of age) is consistently lower than seat belt use among adults (25 years of age and older).
Distracted Driving:
- Distraction negatively affects driving performance for all drivers but can be especially dangerous for young, inexperienced drivers.
- In 2019, among U.S. high school students who drove, 39% texted or e-mailed while driving at least once during the prior 30 days.
Speeding:
- Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed and allow shorter distances from the front of one vehicle to the front of the next.14–16 These risky driving behaviors appear to be worse when a male teenage passenger is present.16
- 35% of male drivers and 18% of female drivers (ages 15–20 years) who were involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the crash in 2020.