Teen Motorist Crashes Drop 50% over Last 20 Years, Study Finds
Over the past two decades, in the U.S., teen drivers have caused about 53 percent less traffic collisions, according to the findings of a study recently conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (AAA). In fact, while there has been at 51 percent drop in the rate of non-fatal, injury accidents caused by teen drivers since 1993, the rate of fatal traffic crashes caused by teen drivers has dropped about 56 percent.
Commenting on these findings, AAA Director of State Relations, Jennifer Ryan, has stated:
While great strides have been made to improve the safety of teen drivers over the past 20 years, motor vehicle crashes still remain the leading cause of death for drivers aged 15-19, so advocating on behalf of teen driver safety remains a top priority for AAA.
Teen Drivers Still Present a Big Risk on the Roads, Researchers Caution
In fact, after analyzing decades of police reports for traffic accidents caused by teen drivers, researchers found that:
- About 2 out of every 3 people injured – as well as about 2 in every 3 people killed – in crashes caused by teen drivers were people other than the teens.
- Of these others who were injured, close to half of the injured parties were occupants of other vehicles, and about 17 percent were occupants of the teen driver’s vehicle. About 2 percent were other travelers sharing the roads (like pedestrians or bicycle riders).
- Of the others who are killed in fatal teen driver accidents, close to 30 percent were the occupants of other vehicles, and more than 25 percent were the occupants of the teen driver’s vehicle. Approximately 10 percent of those killed were non-motorists.
- Teen driver crashes surge in summer months when teens are out of school and when they tend to spend about 40 percent more time behind the wheel.
In the conclusion of this study, researchers noted that:
While the number of teenage drivers involved in crashes has decreased substantially over the past two decades, teenage drivers as a group still have much higher crash rates than middle-aged and older drivers, and the impact of crashes involving teenage drivers continues to extend well beyond teen drivers and their passengers.
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