NEWS BRIEF

Wildfires Sound Alarm

April 22, 2008 — Recent wildfires in Colorado and New Mexico should set off warning bells for homeowners that wildfire season has arrived. Residents need to prepare and have a plan in place before they find themselves in the path of a raging wildfire. Now is the time to develop an evacuation plan and make sure you have insurance protection for your home and personal belongings.

Colorado news release
New Mexico news release
Wildfire Statistics

Business Disaster Planning

Teen Driving Statistics

National Teen Driving Statistics
Colorado Teen Driving Statistics
Utah Teen Driving Statistics
Graduated Drivers Licensing

National Teen Driving Statistics

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers.
16 year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age.
16-year-olds are three times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than the average of all drivers.
3,490 drivers age 15-20 died in car crashes in 2006, up slightly from 2005.
Drivers age 15-20 accounted for 12.9 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes in 2006.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates the economic impact of auto accidents involving 15-20 year old drivers is over $40 billion.
A recent report by AAA estimates the cost of crashes involving 15-17 year olds to be $34 billion.
Graduated drivers license programs appear to be making a difference. Fatal crashes involving 15- to 20-year olds in 2005 were down 6.5 percent from 7,979 in 1995, to the lowest level in ten years.
Fewer 16-year-olds are driving. In 2006 only 30 percent of 16-year-olds had their driver's licenses compared to 40% in 1998 according to the Federal Highway Administration.
According to a 2005 survey of 1,000 people ages 15 and 17, conducted by the Allstate Foundation
- More than half (56 percent) of young drivers use cell phones while driving,
- 69 percent said that they speed to keep up with traffic
- 64 percent said they speed to go through a yellow light.
- 47 percent said that passengers sometimes distract them.
- Nearly half said they believed that most crashes involving teens result from drunk driving.
31 percent of teen drivers killed in 2006 had been drinking, according to NHTSA. 25 percent had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.
Statistics show that 16 and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger (IIHS).

Colorado Teen Driving Statistics

Sources: Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) , Colorado Department of Revenue

Colorado's first graduated driver licensing laws began in 1999.
Preliminary data from CDOT show that 43 people age 16-20 died in Colorado car crashes during 2007, a steep drop from previous years.
Sixty-two 16-20 year-olds died on Colorado roadways in 2006; 79 died in 2005, and 96 died in 2004.
Of the 62 teens killed in Colorado in 2006, 42 (nearly 68 percent) were not wearing seat belts.
In 2006, 80 percent of teen passengers who died in car crashes in Colorado were riding with teen drivers
Teen drivers represent nearly six percent of licensed Colorado drivers, but they account for more than eleven percent of all traffic deaths in the state.
28 percent of Colorado's 16-year-olds got drivers licenses in 2006 compared to 60 percent in 1999. That translates to 19,000 16-year-old drivers in 2006 down from 36,000 in 1999.
Colorado drivers age 19 and younger totaled 150,000 in 2006 compared to 178,000 in 1995.

How Medical Bills are Paid After an Auto Accident

When you buy auto insurance you need to think about what actually happens when you're in an accident and need to use it...

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Updated: May 5, 2008 10:48 AM
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