When you look at fatal car accidents across different age groups, one clear trend emerges: the rate at which teenagers are involved in fatal accidents is higher than any other age group. This is true even though their age bracket is relatively small, consisting mainly of drivers aged 16 to 19, with a few 15-year-olds practicing on learner’s permits.
Despite making up a small percentage of drivers on the road, teenagers have a disproportionately high accident rate. This trend persists year after year, proving very difficult to address. While young drivers must go through training and pass tests to obtain their licenses, it is clear that this alone is not enough to make them as safe as older drivers. Even someone in their early 20s will have a much lower accident rate.
Why this risk is difficult to address
The high accident rate among teens is primarily due to their lack of experience on the road. For instance, a teenager may drive too fast for conditions simply because they have never encountered those weather conditions before. Similarly, they may accidentally tailgate another driver because they lack practice maintaining a safe following distance and do not yet know what that looks like.
Drivers tend to become safer with age, as they gain more experience, but the only real solution is to give teenagers more time behind the wheel. That’s how they get this valuable experience. Unfortunately, this learning process inevitably leads to more serious accidents.
As such, there is always some level of risk associated with the young drivers around you. If you have been injured or lost a loved one in an accident, make sure you understand the legal steps available to you.