Personal Injury Law

Young Drivers Most Likely To Have Fatal Accidents

By Mark Siesel, Esq.

In a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA), young drivers of either a car or motorcycle (age 15-20) are the most likely to have fatal car crashes in the United States. 15-20 year old drivers comprise 6% of all licensed drivers in the U.S. but had 19% of the fatal accidents in 2007. About two-thirds of people killed in fatal car crashes are the young drivers or their passengers. More than half of the fatal accidents occur on rural roadways. Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for 15-20 year olds based upon mortality data from the National Center For Health Statistics in 2005.

In 2007, young drivers were in 6,669 fatal accidents resulting in 7,650 deaths. There has been a 13% decrease in deaths involving young drivers from 1998 to 2007, with the peak being 9,251 fatalities in 2002. There are three main causes of the much higher percentage of young driver fatalities in this country: failure to wear a seat belt; alcohol involvement, and speeding. According to the study, overall seat belt use among all drivers is 82%, but among young drivers, it is 77%, and in fatal crashes in 2007, 61% were not wearing their seat belts. Regarding alcohol usage, 31% of young drivers involved in fatal accidents in 2007 had some alcohol in their systems, and 26% were over the legal limit of 0.08 percent (BAC).

31% of all fatal crashes in the United States are at least partially attributable to speeding. However, in 2007, a whopping 39% of male drivers age 15-20 killed in auto crashes were speeding when the accident occurred. Young female drivers age 15-20 accounted for 24% of all fatal crashes. Of all ages and genders of motorists, 15-20 year old males are the most likely to be speeding when a fatal car crash occurs.

Full post as published by New York Legal Blog on December 06, 2009 (boomark / email).