Teen Drivers Pose Risk to Everyone on the Road

May 2009

A new study has found that when teen drivers are behind the wheel they pose a risk to all drivers on the road. The report, issued by AAA, found that for every driver age 15 to 17 killed in a crash, there are nearly two other motorists who die.

AAA examined crash data from 1998 to 2007. The agency found that fatal car accidents involving 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old drivers killed 28,138 people nationwide. Of these victims, only 10,388, or 36.9 percent, were the teen drivers themselves.

AAA cites a number of reasons for high teen crash rates, including inexperience, a lack of skills, poor decision-making, and excessive risk-taking. In addition, they said that young drivers are particularly susceptible to driver distractions, like talking on a cell phone, because most haven't yet learned to safely divide their attention between two tasks.