AAA: Teen Drivers Put Everyone at Risk

Nearly two-thirds of people injured or killed in a crash involving a teen driver are people other than the teen behind the wheel. That's according to a new report released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. In 2013 alone, 371,645 people were injured and 2,927 were killed in crashes that involved a teen driver.

The study from AAA analyzed data of police-reported crashes of drivers aged 15-19, from 1994-2013 and found:

• While the overall number of teen crashes are down, the majority of people killed (66%) and injured (67%) in crashes involving a teen driver are people other than the teen themselves
• Nearly 50 percent of those injured were in another vehicle; 17 percent were in the teen driver’s car; and 2 percent were non-motorists (i.e., pedestrian, bicyclist)
• Nearly 30 percent of those killed were in another car, 27 percent were the teen’s passenger and ten percent were non-motorists (i.e., pedestrians, bicyclist)

There is some good news to report. In the last 20 years, non-fatal injury crashes and fatal crashes of teen drivers aged 15-19 decreased by 51 percent and 56 percent respectively.

AAA is trying to raise attention among parents of teen drivers and all road during a time of the year they've labeled the “100 Deadliest Days”.  That's the period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when teen crash fatalities historically climb.

AAA provides tools and resources to coach teens through the learning-to drive process including a parent-teen driving agreement their website TeenDriving.AAA.com.