Teens and Speeding: Breaking the Deadly Cycle, a new report from GHSA and Ford Motor Company Fund, highlights the significant role speeding plays in teen driver fatalities and offers practical tools to help parents rein in this lethal driving habit.
The new analysis for GHSA found that from 2015 to 2019, teen drivers and passengers (16-19 years of age) had a greater proportion of speeding-related fatalities (43%) than all other age groups (30%). During this five-year period, 4,930 teen drivers and passengers died in speeding-related crashes. Teens and Speeding: Breaking the Deadly Cycle also sheds light on what we know about speeding-related fatal crashes involving teens – the driver is more likely to be male, have run off the road or rolled the vehicle and be unbuckled. The data analysis was conducted by Richard Retting of Sam Schwartz Consulting.
This new analysis of teen driving deaths is especially timely. Crashes have spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic and speeding on less-crowded than normal roadways is cited by states as a major factor in the surge in motor vehicle deaths. Parents may also have less time to spend training their teen drivers given other priorities during the pandemic.
- Download the Report: Teens and Speeding: Breaking the Deadly Cycle
- Teen Driver and Passenger Fatalities and Speeding-Related Fatalities by State
- News Release: As Traffic Deaths Spike During COVID-19, New Report Examines Unsettling Trend of Teen Drivers Speeding – and Dying – on America’s Roads
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