Facts & Figures
Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens.
Crash risk is highest during the first year that teenagers are eligible to drive; one in five 16 year olds crashes.
Texting while driving increases the likelihood of a crash by 23 times.
Teens who have to ask for the car keys and share a vehicle with another family member are half as likely to crash compared to those with primary access to a car.
Over 74,000 young people die or are injured each year by not wearing seatbelts.
Young drivers are particularly vulnerable to driving drowsy, which is a significant problem that increases the risk of a crash or near-crash.
Two-thirds of teen passenger deaths are in vehicles driven by other teenagers.
The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. This risk increases with the number of teen passengers.
Over one-third of teen fatal crashes are speed related.
In 2005, the motor vehicle death rate for male drivers and passengers ages 16 to 19 was more than one and a half times that of their female counterparts.
A 16-year-old is 20 times more likely to be killed in a crash than an adult.
The risk of a fatal crash is three times greater at night, for every mile driven.
One-third of all crashes are at intersections.