Accidents are everywhere. More than 33,000 fatal car accidents occurred in the United States in 2018. That’s ninety every day.
An accident is every driver’s biggest fear. An accident involving your teen is every parent’s biggest nightmare.
Most teens will never be involved in an accident. But you need to be prepared with the right information, just in case. Here are five teen driver accident statistics that you should know.
- Seven Teens Die Every Day in Cars
In 2018 alone, nearly 2,500 teenagers died in automobile accidents. That’s seven a day across the entire year.
Teen drivers are becoming safer with time. In 2008, more than 4,000 teenagers died in automobile accidents. Teens are learning good defensive driving, and they are taking their responsibilities seriously.
But teens need to continue learning about good driving habits. More teenagers die in cars than from most infectious diseases.
- 285,000 Teens Go to the Hospital Every Year
Injuries are far more commonplace than deaths. Emergency rooms treated roughly 285,000 teens in 2018. That’s seventy a day across the entire year.
Injuries include bone fractures, brain damage, and spinal cord injuries. Medical bills and lost work costs totaled well over eleven billion dollars that one year. Most teens recover from a car accident, but their injuries are a major inconvenience.
- Alcohol Isn’t a Common Factor in a Teen Driver Accident
When most parents think about the number one cause of teen driver accidents, they think about drunk driving. But drunk driving comprises only a small number of teen driver accidents.
Only 24 percent of teen drivers who were killed in crashes had been drinking. Only 15 percent of teen drivers killed in accidents had a blood-alcohol level of .08% or higher. Most teens who drink take rides home, or don’t drink enough to impair their driving.
- Teens Don’t Wear Seat Belts
Seat belts save lives. They reduce the risk of death in an accident by 45 percent.
Yet many teens do not wear seat belts. 43 percent of high schoolers say they do not always wear a seat belt. Only 87 percent of teenagers wear seat belts, compared to 90 percent of adults.
Half of the teens who died in car crashes were not wearing a seatbelt. They were thrown out of their vehicles, or they smashed into the walls of their vehicles. Even at low speeds, this is enough to cause internal bleeding and brain damage.
- Teens Don’t Pay Attention to the Road
Teens play risks when they are driving. 39 percent of teens say they texted or emailed while they were driving.
Not paying attention to the road often leads to speeding. Thirty percent of male teen drivers who were involved in fatal crashes were speeding. Looking at this post on your social media means not looking at these brake pedals in front of you.
Stay Smart, Stay Safe
You can’t monitor your teen every minute. But you can give them the information they need to drive safely. Learn some teen driver accident statistics and update your child on them.
Seven teens die every day in cars. Accidents send nearly 300,000 teens to the hospital every year. Alcohol is a factor, but not wearing seatbelts or driving while distracted are bigger factors.
Advise your child on good driving practices. Remain informed on driving safety by following our coverage.