The Most Dangerous US States For Teen Drivers
Although teens are at greater risk of injury or death in motor vehicle collisions than nearly every other age group no matter what part of the country they're in, where teens live can also have an impact on their risk, according to separate studies conducted by Allstate Insurance Company and Reader's Digest.
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of American teens, and each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 5,000 people aged 16-20 are killed in passenger vehicle crashes.
The Allstate study used federal crash statistics, company claims data on teen motor vehicle crashes, and statistics from the US Census Bureau to list the ten most dangerous cities from the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.
The results revealed that the most risky cities for teens are located in the South, with the top three in Florida.
Of the top 50 cities in the country for teen fatality crashes, Tampa/St.
Petersburg/Clearwater, Orlando/Kissimmee, and Jacksonville rank number one, two and three, respectively.
The Reader's Digest study uses a different classification method, ranking all 50 states based on existing Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL), safety belt, and Driving Under the Influence (DUI) laws.
The report listed Alaska, California and Delaware as the top three, and North Dakota, Mississippi and Arkansas as three of the worst.
Florida is categorized as "Fair," the next-to-lowest ranking.
Interestingly, California cities also scored high in the Allstate study: Numbers one, two and four were San Francisco/Oakland, San Jose, and Los Angeles.
Factors that contribute to teen motor vehicle crashes include:
An observational study by the Utah Department of Health found that the teen seat belt use rate falls when other high-risk factors are present, such as when teens drive under the influence of alcohol, drive at night, have multiple teen passengers, or are driving without a driver's license.
The risk factors listed above, including seat belt requirements, are addressed by GDL laws in many states.
GDL laws set standards that underage drivers must meet before proceeding from one stage of licensure to the next.
In the 1980s, 90% of high schools taught driver's education; in 2009, only 20% do.
This means that teens get the majority of their driver education from their parents and are subject only to state requirements when becoming licensed, making GDL laws of ever-increasing importance in lowering teen crash rates.
While a national model for GDL laws has existed since the mid-1990s, no state follows all of the requirements.
To show the disparities among states, The National Safety Commission (TNSC) analyzed the GDL laws in four states: California, Florida, Mississippi, and North Dakota.
The study showed that:
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one killer of American teens, and each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 5,000 people aged 16-20 are killed in passenger vehicle crashes.
The Allstate study used federal crash statistics, company claims data on teen motor vehicle crashes, and statistics from the US Census Bureau to list the ten most dangerous cities from the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.
The results revealed that the most risky cities for teens are located in the South, with the top three in Florida.
Of the top 50 cities in the country for teen fatality crashes, Tampa/St.
Petersburg/Clearwater, Orlando/Kissimmee, and Jacksonville rank number one, two and three, respectively.
The Reader's Digest study uses a different classification method, ranking all 50 states based on existing Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL), safety belt, and Driving Under the Influence (DUI) laws.
The report listed Alaska, California and Delaware as the top three, and North Dakota, Mississippi and Arkansas as three of the worst.
Florida is categorized as "Fair," the next-to-lowest ranking.
Interestingly, California cities also scored high in the Allstate study: Numbers one, two and four were San Francisco/Oakland, San Jose, and Los Angeles.
Factors that contribute to teen motor vehicle crashes include:
- Speeding/driving too fast for conditions
- Driver distraction, including cell phone use and dealing with passengers
- Inexperience
- Driving at night
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (including prescription and over-the-counter drugs)
An observational study by the Utah Department of Health found that the teen seat belt use rate falls when other high-risk factors are present, such as when teens drive under the influence of alcohol, drive at night, have multiple teen passengers, or are driving without a driver's license.
The risk factors listed above, including seat belt requirements, are addressed by GDL laws in many states.
GDL laws set standards that underage drivers must meet before proceeding from one stage of licensure to the next.
In the 1980s, 90% of high schools taught driver's education; in 2009, only 20% do.
This means that teens get the majority of their driver education from their parents and are subject only to state requirements when becoming licensed, making GDL laws of ever-increasing importance in lowering teen crash rates.
While a national model for GDL laws has existed since the mid-1990s, no state follows all of the requirements.
To show the disparities among states, The National Safety Commission (TNSC) analyzed the GDL laws in four states: California, Florida, Mississippi, and North Dakota.
The study showed that:
- In California, the minimum age for a learner's permit is 15 years, six months; in Florida and Mississippi, the minimum age is 15.
The minimum age in North Dakota is 14. - While California and Florida each require 50 hours of practice driving with a parent or guardian in the learner's permit stage, 10 hours of which must be at night, neither Mississippi nor North Dakota require parental certification of any driving practice hours.
- North Dakota does not have any passenger or nighttime restrictions, and Florida and Mississippi have only nighttime restrictions.
California's passenger restriction is that for the first 12 months, the restricted driver may have no passengers younger than 20, with limited exceptions for immediate family.
