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Driver Error #1 Cause of Teen Fatalities

November 7, 2005

Teen Drivers • Graduated Driver Licensing Reduces Fatal Crashes • Fewer 16-Year-Olds Involved in Car Crashes • Driver Error #1 Cause of Teen Fatalities • MADD: Teen Access to Alcohol Widespread --- • Auto Safety News • Parenting News

Driver error is the leading cause (77%) of fatal crashes among teen drivers, a study finds, followed by speeding (38%) and alcohol (less than 25%).

Despite improvements in highways, safer cars and restrictive driving laws, the number of teen deaths attributed to teen motor-vehicle crashes has remained consistent at nearly 6,000 fatalities per year for the past 10 years, the Allstate Foundation study found.

In addition, each year, more than 300,000 teens are injured as a result of a teen crash.

Recent research into adolescent brain development may explain why established teen driver-education programs have not been more effective in reducing teen crash statistics, study suggested.

"Areas involved in multi-tasking, impulse control and the ability to envision consequences, areas crucial for driving, are still developing until age 25," according to the report.

Here are some common attitudes the survey found among teen drivers:

If I'm sober, I'm safe. Teens appear to believe drinking and driving is the major cause of crashes when in fact, drinking is a factor in 13 percent of crashes involving 16-year-olds and less than 25 percent overall. The reality is that 75 percent of teen deaths on the road are due to speeding and driver error.

More than half (56%) of teens make and answer phone calls while driving. Thirteen percent (an estimated 1.6 million teens) drive while reading or writing text messages. Forty-seven percent said passengers sometimes distract them.

Speeding is normal. Although speeding causes almost half of all teen-driving fatalities, teens say speeding is part of the daily driving experience. Sixty-nine percent of teen drivers that speed said they do so to keep up with traffic.

One out of four self-identified aggressive teen drivers (26%) reported speeding by more than 20 miles an hour over the limit. Four times as many males as females (25% vs. 6%) said they speed because it is "fun."

Sixty-four percent polled speed up to go through a yellow light.

It's not me, it's them Most teens believe they are good drivers and it's other teens that drive recklessly.

Forty-three percent classified their own driving as "somewhat" or "very defensive" behind the wheel. Sixty-two percent called their peers "somewhat" or "very aggressive" drivers.

Nearly 70 percent of teens say they've felt unsafe when someone else was driving but less than half (45%) said they would speak up in such an instance.

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