Teen Driving

Teen drivers have high crash rates per mile. Teens get in trouble trying to handle unusual driving situations, even small emergencies. The problem is worst among 16 year-olds who bring both inexperience behind the wheel and immaturity to the complex task of driving.

How do the fatal crashes of 16 year-olds differ?

• Driver Error: Much higher proportions of 16 year-olds are responsible for their fatal crashes, compared with older drivers.
• Speeding: Police reports indicate that 37 percent of all 16 year-old drivers in fatal crashes during 1993 were speeding or going too fast for road conditions.
• Single-Vehicle Crashes: In 44 percent of fatal crashes involving 16 year-old drivers only the teenager's vehicle was involved.
• Alcohol: The rate of alcohol involvement in 16 year-olds' fatal crashes is low. Only 5 percent of such drivers killed in 1993 crashes had blood alcohol concentrations of 0.10 percent or more.
• Belt Use: Many 16 year-olds who die in crashes aren't belted in. In fact, a higher proportion of teens in general don't use belts, compared with older drivers.
• Passenger Deaths: It isn't just 16 year-old drivers who are dying in disproportionate numbers. Two out of every three teens who died as passengers in 1993 crashes were in vehicles driven by other teens, especially 16 year-olds. Fatal crashes involving drivers this age are much more likely to occur with three or more teens in the vehicle.
  
  What Teenagers' Parents Can Do