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Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet

teen driver and parent in carMotor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, accounting for more than one in three deaths in this age group.1 In 2005, twelve teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.

How big is the problem, and what are the costs?

Who is most at risk?

What are the major risk factors?

How can motor vehicle injuries be prevented?

How big is the problem, and what are the costs?

In the United States during 2005, 4,544 teens ages 16 to 19 died of injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes. In the same year, nearly 400,000 motor vehicle occupants in this age group sustained nonfatal injuries that required treatment in an emergency department.1 Overall, in 2005, teenagers accounted for 10 percent of the U.S. population and 12 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths.2

Young people ages 15-24 represent only 14% of the U.S. population. However, they account for 30% ($19 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% ($7 billion) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females.2

Who is most at risk?

The risk of 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.3

Among teen drivers, those at especially high risk for motor vehicle crashes are:

What are the major risk factors?

How can motor vehicle injuries be prevented?

There are proven methods to helping teens become safer drivers. Research suggests that the most comprehensive graduated drivers licensing (GDL) programs are associated with reductions of 38% and 40% in fatal and injury crashes, respectively, among 16-year-old drivers.1

Graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems are designed to delay full licensure while allowing teens to get their initial driving experience under low-risk conditions. For more information about GDL systems, see the Teens Behind the Wheel: Graduated Drivers Licensing fact sheet.

When parents know their state抯 GDL laws, they can help enforce the laws and, in effect, help keep their teen drivers safe.

Resources

Graduated Drivers Licensing Toolkit (order a copy online here) In this Healthy States tool kit, users can find out more about GDL systems, why GDL laws are needed, and what state legislators can do to improve state GDL laws.

Graduated Drivers Licensing Fact Sheets (From the 2007 International Symposium on Novice Teen Driving: GDL and Beyond)
The National Safety Council, with sponsorship from the CDC, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the GEICO Foundation, Nationwide Insurance, General Motors Corporation, and State Farm Insurance, held the second International Symposium on Novice Teen Driving in February 2007. These fact sheets summarize the current scientific findings on Graduated Driver Licensing that were presented at the Symposium in February. Information in the fact sheets is based on papers written by Symposium presenters and published in the April 2007 GDL Special Issue of the Journal of Safety Research.

The Guide to Community Preventive Services
This online guide offers recommendations about motor vehicle injury prevention issued by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services.

References

1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. (2008). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (producer). Available from: URL: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars. [Cited 2008 Mar 14].

2Finkelstein EA, Corso PS, Miller TR, Associates. Incidence and Economic Burden of Injuries in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press; 2006.

3Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Fatality facts: teenagers 2005. Arlington (VA): The Institute; 2006 [cited 2006 Dec 1].

4Chen 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�.

5Jonah BA, Dawson NE. Youth and risk: age differences in risky driving, risk perception, and risk utility. Alcohol, Drugs and Driving 1987;3:13�.

6Simons-Morton B, Lerner N, Singer J. The observed effects of teenage passengers on the risky driving behavior of teenage drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention

7National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Dept. of Transportation (US). Traffic safety facts 2005: speeding. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2006a [cited 2008 March 28]. Available from: URL: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2005/SpeedingTSF05.pdf.

8National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Dept. of Transportation (US). Traffic safety facts 2005: young drivers. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2006b [cited 2008 March 28]. Available from: URL: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2005/YoungDriversTSF05.pdf.

9Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance桿nited States, 2005 [Online]. (2006b). National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (producer). Available from: URL: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/yrbss/CategoryQuestions.asp?cat=1&desc=Unintentional Injuries and Violence.* [Cited 2006 Nov 28].

* Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.

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Content Source: National Center for Injury prevention and Control, Division of Unintentional Injury
Page last modified:July 18, 2008