Fatal Crashes Fell 38% Since 2002

The crash and fatality rates for drivers under 21 have improved drastically over the past two decades – more so than for other drivers. Fatal crashes involving a young driver fell 38%, while they increased nearly 8% for drivers 21 and older, and deaths of young drivers fell about 45%, compared to an 11% increase in fatalities for older drivers.

Those are the highlights of a new report released earlier this month by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), a nonprofit organization representing state highway safety offices, that analyzed federal data from 2002 to 2021.

“Young drivers are the riskiest age group on the road, and the reasons are straightforward – immaturity and inexperience,” Pam Shadel Fischer, the GHSA’s senior director of external engagement and the report’s author. “The brain isn’t fully developed until the early to mid-twenties, particularly the prefrontal cortex, which controls risk assessment and decision-making. Many young drivers simply don’t have the behind-the-wheel experience to recognize risk and take the appropriate corrective action to prevent a crash.”

“And this impacts the safety of everyone on the road, not just the teen behind the wheel,” she added. “In 2021, 63% of the people killed in crashes involving a young driver were their passengers, occupants of other vehicles or pedestrians or bicyclists.”

The report, “Young Drivers and Traffic Fatalities: 20 Years of Progress on the Road to Zero” identifies the policies and programs responsible for the progress in teen driver safety and makes recommendations for how best to continue that success.

Traditionally, young drivers have been nearly four times more likely to be involved in a fatal traffic crash than their older counterparts, but the new study found that young people are less likely to drive today than they were 20 years ago. However, this accounts for only a small portion of the large decreases, researchers said.

The report discusses five proven policies and programs that research confirms the teen driver safety gains can be attributed to and proposes a sixth:

• Strengthen Graduated Driver License (GDL) laws, which phase in driving privileges for teens and impose restrictions, like banning nighttime driving or limiting the number of peers in the vehicle. Every state has a GDL program, but only two states – Maryland and New Jersey, have provisions that apply to drivers 18 and up. More states should consider applying GDL provisions to 18- to 20-year-olds, the report recommends.
• Bolster parent/guardian and other adult involvement during the learning to drive phase. For example, parents should understand and enforce their state’s GDL provisions. The report recommends several changes, including building a parent education element into state licensing requirements.
• Make driver training available to all both culturally and financially.
• Invest in impactful peer-to-peer education programs.
• Leverage driver assistance technology and apps. Technology advancements like lane-departure warning, blind spot monitoring and automatic emergency braking have made vehicles safer than they’ve ever been, and can help prevent crashes involving young drivers, but they and their parents need to be familiar with how these features work and their limitations.
• Incorporate technology and driver responsibility into education. More information on vehicle safety features should be incorporated into driver education programs, along with guidance on driving electric vehicles.

“These education efforts should also focus on the safety of people walking, biking or scooting,” the report noted, “so that novice drivers understand their role in protecting everyone on the road.”

A state-by-state analysis in the report shows that changes in the crash and fatality rates for young drivers vary substantially. Nationally, for example, the young driver crash fatality rate improved in all but three states and the District of Columbia.

GHSA will hold a webinar on October 31 at 2 p.m. ET that will: summarize the report’s findings, discuss what’s behind the improvement in teen fatal crash rates, address future initiatives, and explore how teen driver and parent/guardian educational efforts have evolved.

For more information and to register for the seminar, click here and here.