Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and many other organizations show that driving safety is a major problem for teen drivers everywhere. 

Motor vehicle crashes—the number one killer of American teenagers.

• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among American teenagers, killing between 5,000 and 6,000 teenagers every year for the past decade
• Teenage drivers account for only 6.4 percent (12.5 million) of the total drivers in the United States , but account for 14 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes and 18 percent of all police-reported crashes.
• No other kind of hazard comes close to claiming as many teenage lives, including teenage homicides and suicides.
• The crash rate per mile driven among 16- to 19-year-olds is four times the rate among older drivers.
• Teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use.
• Fatal crashes involving young drivers are much more likely to occur when other teenagers are in the car.

Teenage drivers are dangerous to everyone, not just themselves

• Analysis shows that nearly two-thirds of those killed in crashes involving teens are other vehicle users and pedestrians – other than the teens themselves.

Excessive Speed and Other Driver Errors

The top five driver-related factors for teenage drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes are:  

• Driving too fast
• Running off the road
• Driving in the wrong lane
• Driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medication
• Erratic or reckless driving

As a Parent, Your Responsibility is Clear

Not only for your child, but for the safety of everyone on the road, you must take responsibility for ensuring that your child is a safe, educated and responsible driver.

Some steps you can take:

• Ensure that teens receive proper driver’s education and training
• Establish clear rules and expectations for driving
• Linking responsibility to the continued privilege of driving
• Monitor and supervise the teen’s actual driving behavior.

To aid in monitoring teen driving behavior, many parents are choosing to use a tracking device on their teenagers’ cars.  The Witness can track the location, speed and other driving behavior, and to receive automatic notifications if trouble conditions occur. 

Click here for more information about The Witness and teenage drivers

Sources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance – United States ,” (14 January 2005).
• Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “Fatality Facts: teenagers 2002, (13 December 2003).
• Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, “Teen Deaths (ages 13-19) in motor vehicle crashes 1986-2002.” (2003).
• Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute, “Fatality Facts 2003: Teenagers,” (23 June 2005).
• National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System,” (13 Dec 2004).
• National Center for Statistical Analysis Information Services Branch, “2003 Fatality Analysis Reporting System,” (1 April 2005).
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Traffic Safety Facts 2003,” (January 2005).
• National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, “Teens' Driving Riskier with Male Teen Passenger, Teen Boy's Driving Safer with Female Teen Passenger,” (24 August, 2005).
• Williams, A., “Teenage Passengers in Motor Vehicle Crashes; A Summary of Current Research,” Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (December 2001).
• AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Analysis of Ten Years of NHTSA Fatality Data (January 2006).