The statistics for teenage drivers are less than optimistic. They are more likely to be killed in a vehicle crash than any other way. There are a number of national agencies that track and study the driving experiences of teens across the United States, as well as internationally. Perhaps USA Weekend did the most revealing study. The USA Weekend Feature Story, September 3-5 1999, copyright 1999, used 1997 statistics to reach some startling conclusions.
The deadliest drivers of all – The National Highway Traffic Safety database shows 16-year-old drivers are the riskiest. The solution, say some states: Take away the car keys at night, outlaw carloads of youths and demand a long, supervised learning curve or change the age requirements for getting the first license. They call such guidelines or expectations “graduated licensing” . The laws adopted vary in each individual state.
Would you believe the entire death toll of the Vietnam War was less than teenage vehicle fatalities in the last decade? Would you believe teenage fatalities are equal to one Columbine High School massacre every day? “Crashes are the leading killer of teens 15 to 19, responsible for 1 in 3 deaths. While death rates for drivers of all ages declined 20% from 1975-96, and even dropped for 17-19 year-olds, the rate nearly doubled for 16-year-olds, now the riskiest drivers on the road.” Traditional driver education courses (30 hours of classroom activities and 6 hours of behind the wheel experiences) have not worked well in developing great beginning drivers! The report cited statistics that show 16 year olds are ill prepared for the responsibility of driving :
They speed and run off the road most.
They are cited for more mistakes than anyone except drivers over 82.
They carry the most passengers (80% are other teens) who wear seat belts less often than older drivers and passengers.
They crash far more at night and hit trees and poles more often.
Though new drivers, one in seven of them had a previous accident or ticket.
Their crash rate was five times higher than drivers over 25.
“They have the highest crash risk of any age,” says Alan Williams of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and a top licensing researcher.
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