The issue of teen drivers is very important because thousands of teens die every year as a result of automobile crashes, so many, in fact, that they are the leading cause of death for American teenagers. In the last decade, over 68,000 teens have died in car crashes.(1)
Even though this age group makes up only seven percent of the driving population, they are involved in 14 percent of all traffic fatalities. On the basis pf miles driven, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as are all drivers. Why do young drivers have such poor driving performance? Three factors work together to make the teen years so deadly for young drivers. These factors are:
All young drivers start out with little knowledge or understanding of the complexities of driving a motor vehicle. Learning to driver, like any other skill, takes a lot of time and effort. Technical ability, good judgement, and experience are all needed to properly make the continuous decisions, both small and large, that add up to safe driving.
Adolescent impulsiveness is a natural behavior, but it results in participation in high-risk behaviors such as speeding and poor judgement. Pressure from peers (Peer pressure) also encourages risk taking.
Teens also drive at night with other teens in the vehicle. These are factors that increase crash risk. Compared to other drivers, a higher proportion of teenagers is responsible for their fatal crashes because of their own driving errors.
A larger percentage of crashes involving teens are single-vehicle crashes compared to those of other drivers.
Fewer teens wear their seatbelts than other drivers.
More teenage fatal crashes involve speeding or going too fast for road conditions
Two out of three teens who die as passengers are in vehicles driven by other teenagers
Effective remedies exist for controlling these risk factors and reducing traffic crash fatalities amoung novice drivers without ser...