National Teen Driving Statistics

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

• In 2010, the latest year for which data are available, motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death among 13-19 year-old males and females in the United States.

• A total of 3,115 teenagers ages 13-19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2010. This is 64 percent fewer than in 1975 and 10 percent fewer than in 2009.

• Thirty-three percent of deaths among 13-19-year-olds occurred in motor vehicle crashes, 39 percent among females and 31 percent among males.

• 16-year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age.

• The crash rate per mile driven is twice as high for 16-year-olds as it is for 18- and 19-year-olds.

• About 2 out of every 3 teenagers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2010 were males.

• In 2010, 58 percent of deaths among passenger vehicle occupants ages 16-19 were drivers.

• Fifty-nine percent of teenage passenger deaths in 2010 occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager. Among deaths of passengers of all ages, 17 percent occurred when a teenager was driving.

• Statistics show that 16- and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.

• Eighty-one percent of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths in 2010 were passenger vehicle occupants. The others were pedestrians (9 percent), motorcyclists (4 percent), bicyclists (2 percent), riders of all-terrain vehicles (2 percent), and people in other kinds of vehicles (2 percent).

• Fifty-five percent of motor vehicle crash deaths among teenagers in 2010 occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

• In states with GDL programs that include at least five of the most important elements, there was a 20% reduction in fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers.

• In 2006 (latest data available) crashes involving 15- to 17-year-olds cost more than $34 billion nationwide in medical treatment, property damage and other costs, according to an AAA analysis.

• Teenage drivers and passengers are among those least likely to wear their seat belts.

• In 2009, 11 percent of the people who died in distracted driving crashes were teens 15 to 19 years old. Out of all the teens who died in crashes in 2009, 18 percent died in crashes that involved distracted driving. Fifteen percent of teen drivers who were involved in fatal crashes were distracted at the time of the crash.

• In 2008, 37 percent of male drivers ages 15-20 who were involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time.

• In 2010, 54 percent, or 1,532, of the 2,814 occupants of passenger vehicles age 16 to 20 who were killed in crashes were not buckled up.

• Among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers ages 16-17, 16 percent of males and 13 percent of females in 2010 had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. Among fatally injured drivers ages 18-19, 31 percent of males and 22 percent of females had BACs at or above 0.08 percent.

Colorado Teen Driving Statistics

According to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Colorado Department of Revenue:

• Colorado's first graduated driver licensing laws began in 1999.

• Colorado's graduated drivers license program appears to be making a difference. CDOT reports that 48 people ages 15-20 died in Colorado car crashes during 2008—down 54% from 2003.

• In 2008, 25% of teens ages 15-20 who died in car crashes in Colorado were riding with teen drivers ages 15-17. Source: Colorado FARS Occupants Fatalities (Motorcycles, Bicyclists, and Pedestrians excluded).
  
  

  Target Group	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
  Teen Occupant Fatalities Ages 15-20	103	99	83	72	51	48
  Teen Occupant Fatalities Ages 15-20 with Drivers Ages 15-17	45	41	20	18	19	12

• Teen drivers represent nearly 6% of licensed Colorado drivers, but they account for more than 11% of all traffic deaths in the state.

• 28% of Colorado's 16-year-olds got drivers licenses in 2006 compared to 60% 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.