Teen Driving Statistics

Alarming Teen Driving Statistics

According to a recent article done by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the following are Teen Driving Statistics related to only teen drivers in the U.S. during 2005.

• 4,544 teens ages 16 - 19 were killed due to injuries caused in car crashes
• 400,000 teens ages 16 - 19 required emergency hospital treatment for nonfatal injuries sustained in driving accidents
• Per mile, teen drivers ages 16 - 19 are four times more at risk to get in a car crash than any other age group
• 38% of Male drivers 15 - 20 involved in car accidents where speeding and 24% were under the influence of alcohol
• 23% of teen drivers ages 15 - 20 who died in car crashes had a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 0.08 g/dl or greater
• 3 out 4 teens killed while drinking and driving were not wearing a seat belt
• Between 3 p.m. and midnight accounted for half of teen driving deaths - 54% on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

In an unrelated article written by Driving MBA, over 4,000 American soldiers were killed in combat during a 4 year period. During the same time period 27,000 teens between the ages of 15 - 19 died in car crashes on U.S. roads.

It is a sad truth which these teen driving statistics tell. It is sad that our teens are dying at such an alarming rate. It is sad that due to today's declining economy our school systems are forced to cut back on resources and educational programs, such as driving education, aimed at combating these horrifying teen driving statistics.

Without these types of courses our teens will not learn the rules of the road and the proper safety laws in order to become informed drivers. However, the driving statistics listed above are taken from 2005, before our economy took such a drastic down turn.

This begs the questions:

• What are today's teen driving statistics?
• If the school systems aren't teaching these programs, what can I do as a parent to teach and inform my teen about safe driving?
• What programs are available to teach my driving teen about safe driving?

It is our jobs as parents to arm our teens with as much information and experience as possible. To tell them that the more people they have in their car the greater the risk becomes of getting into a car accident. That texting and driving is now rivaling drinking and driving for the #1 cause of teen driving deaths. This is all important information, but is sometimes hard to get across as parents and requires an outside resource to relay this vital information. One such resource is Alive at 25.