There were 200.7 million licensed drivers in the United States in 2005 (2006 data not available). Young drivers, between 15 and 20 years old, accounted for 6.3 percent (12.6 million) of the total, a 4.7-percent increase from the 12 million young drivers in 1995.In 2006, 7,463 15- to 20-year-old drivers were involved in fatal crashes – an 8-percent decrease from the 8,074 involved in 1996. Driver fatalities for this age group increased by 3 percent between 1996 and 2006. For young males, driver fatalities rose by 5 percent, compared with a 3-percent decrease for young females (Table 1).Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year-olds (based on 2004 figures, which are the latest mortality data currently available from the National Center for Health Statistics). In 2006, 3,490 15- to 20-year-old drivers were killed and an additional 272,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes. (Author/publisher)
Abstract