Teen Drivers
Parents and Teens
Seat Belt Use
Graduated Driver Licencing
Youth Access to Alcohol
Additional Resources
National Teen Driver Safety Week
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Leading Cause of Death for Teens
The heart of NHTSA's mission is keeping families safe on America’s roadways. Young drivers, ages 15- to 20-years old, are especially vulnerable to death and injury on our roadways – traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in America. Mile for mile, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers.
![Pie Chart - Leading cause of death among teens.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121006190644im_/http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/Images/PieChart.jpg)
We Know the Causes
Research shows which behaviors contribute to teen-related crashes. Inexperience and immaturity combined with speed, drinking and driving, not wearing seat belts, distracted driving (cell phone use, loud music, other teen passengers, etc.), drowsy driving, nighttime driving, and other drug use aggravate this problem.
The Objective of this Site
We’ve designed this site to provide you with the fundamental resources and information you’ll need to help promote what research clearly shows reduces teen crashes –
- Increasing seat belt use,
- Implementing graduated driver licensing, and
- Reducing teens' access to alcohol.
We’ve designed the template materials so they are quick and easy to customize to promote your teen program. You’ll find talking points, earned media tools, collateral materials and various other marketing materials designed to be tailored to maximize your local outreach efforts to various key audiences.