US TEEN ROAD FATALITIES REPORT

Teen Driver Report – The States with the Most and Least Teenage Driving Fatalities

Zutobi
by Zutobi · Updated Sep 13, 2022

Each year, thousands of teens lose their lives in car crashes, and hundreds of thousands are treated in emergency departments for injuries related to motor vehicle crashes. For years, traffic crashes have been the #1 teenage killer in America.

But how do these statistics look at a state level? We’ve crunched the numbers and looked at things such as DUI, speeding, and road deaths. We then ranked each state from best to worst.

Note: Driving statistics takes time to collect. This report features the latest data released in 2022.

2020 sees a significant increase in teen deaths

On a broader level, the number of young driver road deaths has been steadily decreasing in the last since 1982 – although we can see that there has been a sharp increase in fatalities the first year of the pandemic. The number of young driver and passenger fatalities have increased by 19.5% compared to the previous year.

YearTotal deathsYoung drivers (ages 15 to 20)Passenger fatalities of young drivers
1982732745262801
1983696842522716
1984730945252784
1985689342812612
1986775646583098
1987754145822959
1988759446192975
1989709442222872
1990683640532783
1991619235732619
1992551531532362
1993567032282442
1994596234492513
1995592733482579
1996602433892635
1997599333582635
1998592034312489
1999614235642578
2000615636212535
2001614636172529
2002640338382565
2003607436752399
2004603636342402
2005567134742197
2006566734902177
2007523431902044
2008440427421662
2009379923431456
2010329819651333
2011318719931194
2012294018801060
2013276516961069
2014273817231015
201528851903982
2016294919161033
201728301844986
201826481729919
201924831603880
2020296618851081

What are the main causes of fatal teen driving accidents?

  • Consumption of alcohol: Alcohol is completely banned for those under 21 years of age – despite this, young drivers’ consumption of alcohol remains a large cause of teenage traffic fatalities, with 523 teen drivers killed in DUI crashes in 2020. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has gathered several studies on the subject of teens’ alcohol consumption that together show that more young people die in fatal crashes when the drinking age is lowered.
  • Speeding: A recent study from GHSA found that from 2015 to 2019, teen drivers and passengers had a greater proportion of speeding-related fatalities (43%) than all other age groups (30%), with 4,930 teen drivers and passengers dying in speeding-related crashes. 
  • Distracted driving: Distracted driving is defined as driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving. Due to the nature of being less focused on driving, distracted driving will drastically increase the chance of being involved in a motor vehicle crash. Speaking on a mobile phone while driving increases crash risk by 2 times, while texting increases the crash risk by up to 6 times.
StateImpaired/Drunk DrivingDistracted Driving
Alabama109
Alaska02
Arizona1211
Arkansas41
California5813
Colorado116
Connecticut41
Delaware22
District of Columbia01
Florida3323
Georgia137
Hawaii10
Idaho53
Illinois1813
Indiana134
Iowa52
Kansas513
Kentucky69
Louisiana619
Maine22
Maryland55
Massachusetts74
Michigan115
Minnesota77
Mississippi61
Missouri1211
Montana52
Nebraska20
Nevada34
New Hampshire10
New Jersey64
New Mexico916
New York911
North Carolina2511
North Dakota22
Ohio105
Oklahoma95
Oregon122
Pennsylvania114
Rhode Island11
South Carolina140
South Dakota20
Tennessee1913
Texas8740
Utah35
Vermont01
Virginia87
Washington158
West Virginia30
Wisconsin54
Wyoming22
Total523321

The states with the most teenagers killed in traffic accidents

Kentucky has the most teenage driving fatalities in the country, with 71.45 deaths per 100,000 teenage drivers.

The second worst state is North Carolina (45.34), followed by Arkansas (45.12), Montana (44.08), Mississippi (41.89), New Mexico (40.86), Louisiana (35.22), Arizona (32.79), Texas (31.77), and Florida (31.11).

The complete list of teenage traffic fatalities, by state

StatesMale Teen Drivers Killed in CrashesFemale Teen Drivers Killed in CrashesTotal Teenage Drivers Killed in CrashesTeen Driver Fatalities per 100,000 Licensed Teens
Kentucky26123871.45
North Carolina70239345.34
Arkansas24113545.12
Montana1071744.08
Mississippi3664241.89
New Mexico1652140.86
Louisiana3173835.22
Arizona4655132.79
Texas1584920731.77
Florida1152113631.11
Maine731030.59
Missouri42155729.81
Indiana42125429.67
Wyoming42629.12
Tennessee49126126.59
Oregon1972626.05
Idaho1261826.04
Alaska32525.80
Delaware81925.41
Alabama43115425.28
North Dakota43724.43
California1363517123.84
Maryland2442823.40
Oklahoma26103622.99
Georgia62157722.71
South Carolina30164621.98
Nebraska871519.88
Nevada641019.40
Vermont30319.07
Colorado19113019.05
West Virginia71817.96
Virginia2963517.23
Pennsylvania4094916.95
South Dakota62816.57
Massachusetts1952415.93
Illinois50116115.86
Ohio37135015.12
Connecticut1201214.43
Hawaii30314.21
Iowa1451914.20
Utah1732013.71
Rhode Island30313.46
Washington2162713.41
Kansas1051512.99
Michigan27134012.02
New York3353811.65
New Hampshire31411.40
Wisconsin1382111.02
New Jersey182209.62
Minnesota176239.52
Total1,4614231,88422.56 (Average)

How can this be improved?

Studies have shown that teenage drivers are much more likely to be involved in a serious road accident from the moment they start driving without the supervision of a licensed driver. Many of these accidents can be attributed to distracted driving, speeding, and lack of scanning. This suggests a changed behavior when driving alone, which may be due to overconfidence and insufficient (or bad) driver education, among other reasons.

Teenage drivers need to understand the reason why they must follow driving safety practices, not just the fact that they exist. Furthermore, teenage drivers should study to become safe and responsible drivers, not just to pass the permit test. Unfortunately, it’s often the other way around.

Creating a proper foundation at an early stage is pivotal when it comes to making safe drivers and reducing the number of teenagers killed in driving accidents.

Methodology

Most of the injury data has been gathered using the NHTSA crash data tool, and the Fatality and Injury Reporting System (FIRST). To find the number of licensed teen drivers, we looked at data from the Federal Highway Administration.

student
Take our full course with tests and theory

550+ exam-like questions

All you need to ace your test

Perfect for first-timers, renewals and senior citizens

Ace your DMV test, guaranteed