There were 191.3 million licensed drivers in the USA in 2001 (2002 data not available). Young drivers, between 15 and 20 years old, accounted for 6.6% (12.6 million) of the total, a 5.1% increase from the 12.0 million young drivers in 1991. This traffic safety fact sheet contains statistics on the young driver involvement in traffic crashes in 2002 (including previous years). In 2002, 8,278 15- to 20-year-old drivers were involved in fatal crashes, a 12% increase from the 7,403 involved in 1992. Driver fatalities for this age group increased by 21% between 1992 and 2002. For young males, driver fatalities rose by 15%, compared with a 42% increase for young females. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20 year olds (based on 2000 figures, which are the latest mortality data currently available from the National Center for Health Statistics). In 2002, 3,827 drivers 15 to 20 years old were killed, and an additional 324,000 were injured, in motor vehicle crashes. In 2002, 14% (8,278) of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes (57,803) were young drivers 15 to 20 years old, and 16% (1,825,000) of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes (11,146,000) were young drivers.
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