Teen Driving Fatalities

The dangerous propensities of teenage drivers are widely known. Inexperience coupled with recklessness is a recipe for disaster. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety examines teen crash deaths in Fatality Facts 2008 and provides a glimpse into the circumstances of these tragedies. http://www.iihs.org/research/fatality_facts_2008/teenagers.html

Not suprisingly, 16 year-old drivers have the highest incidence of crashes per mile driven, twice as high as 18 to 19 year-old drivers. Teens overall have a crash rate per mile four times that of older drivers. States with graduated licensing have seen a substantial decline in teen car crashes as phased in licensing serves to restrict the circumstances in which new drivers are permitted on the roads.

Maryland teens are not allowed to drive after midnight or with their friends in the car under their initial restricted license.
 
4.054 teens died in car crashes in 2008, a reduction of more than half from 1975. Two-thirds of the wrongful deaths are males, although the rate of teen male deaths is steadily declining.

The leading cause of death among teens is motor vehicle crash and more than 60% of these are vehicle drivers.

Alcohol-use in teen traffic fatalities stands at about 16% and again males are more likely to have involvement with alcohol than female.

The bottom-line, teens need vast supervision to avoid car and truck collisions.