Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among American teenagers, killing between 5,000 and 6,000 teenagers every year.
No other kind of hazard comes close to claiming as many teenage lives, including homicides (13 percent) and suicides (11 percent). (These were the figures from 2002."
The fatal crash rates among 16- to 19-year-olds is four times that of older drivers.
Risk is the highest at age 16, when the fatal crash rate is 40 percent higher than for 18 year-olds and 30 percent higher than for 19-year-olds.
Cell Phones
56 percent of teens said they make and answer phone calls while driving.
Talking on a cell phone can double the likelihood of an accident and can slow a young driver’s reaction time to that of a 70-year-old.
13 percent of teens said they send and respond to text messages while driving.
Speeding
17 percent of teens said speeding is fun.
55 percent of teens said they exceed the speed limit by more than 10 mph.
26 percent of self-identified "aggressive" teen drivers reported speeding by more than 20 mph over the limit.
69 percent of teens who speed said they do so because they want to keep up with traffic.
Peer Pressure
44 percent of teens said they drive more safely without friends in the car.
67 percent of teens said they have felt unsafe when someone else was driving.
Only 45 percent said they would definitely speak up if someone were driving in a way that scared them.
37 percent said they would ride with one or more friends who speed in the coming year.
*Statistics on teen views are from a recent Allstate Foundation survey.
Seat Belts
Wearing lap/shoulder belts can reduce the risk of dying in a crash by 45 percent.
Teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use.
Curfews
More than 40 percent of teen auto deaths occur between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Only 60 percent of teens’ night time auto deaths occur before midnight, which means that 40% of all teen accidents occur after midnight!
Important Facts
