teen drivers

teen drivers

The most dangerous driver on the road is an 18 year old, who in in 2008 was involved in 2,622 fatal accidents, representing 3.1% of the 84,026 Americans involved in fatal accidents. 797 of them had a BAC of zero or less than .10, 1,656 were not suspected of drinking and driving and thus were not tested or the test was unknown, and 169 or 6.4% of them had a BAC greater than .10.

Across the age range from 16 to 24, young sober drivers were 15 TIMES more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than young drinking drivers, explaining why NHTSA reports that their accident rate is so high that their impairment from drinking alcohol is almost a non-factor.

But there's more to it than meets the eye. Young drivers also brag a lot, and in fact engage a lot, in drinking and driving, with college students reporting that 50-75% of them DO drink and drive. If so, and if drinking and driving DOES increase the probability of having an accident only slightly, then THAT is precisely the time one would expect them to be involved in a fatal accident. This means that young teen drivers who drink actually drive SAFER, much safer, than those who do not.

Modified Friday, November 20, 2009