DOT HS 809 336
U.S. Department of Transportation
Traffic Safety Facts 2000
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration
Young Drivers
There were 187.2 million licensed drivers in the United States in 1999
(2000 data not available). Young drivers, between 15 and 20 years old,
accounted for 6.8 percent (12.7 million) of the total, a 1.2 percent decrease
from the 12.8 million young drivers in 1989.
In 2000, 8,155 15- to 20-year-old drivers were involved in fatal crashes —
a 10 percent decrease from the 9,052 involved in 1990. Driver fatalities for
this age group decreased by 11 percent between 1990 and 2000. For young
males, driver fatalities dropped by 16 percent, compared with a 4 percent
increase for young females (Table 3).
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20 year olds
(based on 1998 figures, which are the latest mortality data currently
available from the National Center for Health Statistics). In 2000, 3,594
drivers 15 to 20 years old were killed, and an additional 348,000 were
injured, in motor vehicle crashes.
In 2000, 14 percent (8,155) of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes
(57,090) were young drivers 15 to 20 years old, and 17 percent (1,885,000)
of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes (11,322,000) were
young drivers.
“Motor vehicle
crashes are the
leading cause of Figure 1. Driver Fatalities and Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes
death for people Among Drivers 15 to 20 Years Old, 1990-2000
from 15 to 20
years old.” Number of Drivers
10,000 Driver Fatalities Drivers Involved
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
National Center for Statistics & Analysis u Research & Development u 400 Seventh Street, S.W. u Washington, D.C. 20590
Traffic Safety Facts 2000 — Young Drivers 2
Table 1. Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes and Driver Involvement
Rates by Age Group, 2000
Age Group (Years)
15-20 21-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-69 70+
2000 Population (Percent) 8.7 5.2 13.6 16.3 13.5 8.7 3.4 9.2
Drivers Involved in 2000
Fatal Crashes (Percent)
Single-Vehicle 18.5 12.8 21.5 18.9 12.6 7.1 2.2 5.9
Multi-Vehicle 12.3 9.2 20.4 20.2 15.6 9.2 3.0 9.8
All Fatal Crashes 14.6 10.5 20.8 19.7 14.6 8.4 2.7 8.4
1999 Licensed Drivers*
(Percent) 6.8 6.7 19.6 22.3 18.6 11.8 4.5 9.9
Drivers Involved in 1999
Fatal Crashes per
100,000 Licensed Drivers 64.7 45.2 32.1 26.4 22.2 20.9 19.7 26.8
* 2000 data not available.
“In 2000, 14 percent
of all the drivers More than one-third (381) of the 15- to 20-year-old drivers involved in
involved in fatal fatal crashes who had an invalid operator’s license at the time of the crash
crashes were also had a previous license suspension or revocation. For the same age
group, 30 percent of the drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes
between 15 and
during 2000 had been drinking (Table 4).
20 years old.”
Table 2. Drivers 15 to 20 Years Old Involved in Fatal Crashes by
Previous Driving Record and License Status, 2000
License Status
Valid (6,895) Invalid (1,180) Total (8,155)*
Driving Record Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Previous Recorded
Crashes 1,166 17.8 133 13.3 1,299 17.2
Previous Recorded
Suspensions or
Revocations 569 8.3 381 36.1 950 12.0
Previous DWI
Convictions 79 1.1 82 7.8 161 2.0
Previous Speeding
Convictions 1,718 25.0 188 17.8 1,906 24.0
Previous Other Harmful
or Moving Conviction 1,357 19.7 239 22.7 1,596 20.1
*Includes 80 drivers with unknown license status.
In 2000, the estimated economic cost of police-reported crashes involving
drivers between 15 and 20 years old was $32.8 billion.
National Center for Statistics & Analysis u Research & Development u 400 Seventh Street, S.W. u Washington, D.C. 20590
Traffic Safety Facts 2000 — Young Drivers 3
When driver fatality rates are calculated on the basis of estimated annual
travel, the highest rates are found among the youngest and oldest drivers.
Compared with the fatality rate for drivers 25 through 69 years old, the rate
for teenage drivers (16 to 19 years old) is about 4 times as high, and the
rate for drivers in the oldest group is 9 times as high.
Figure 2. Driver Fatality Rates by Age and Sex, 1996
Fatality Rate per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled
10 Females All Drivers Males
9
“The fatality rate 3
for teenage drivers, 2
based on estimated 1
annual travel, is 0
about 4 times as high 16 17 18 19 20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60- 65- 70- 75- 80- 85+
as the rate for drivers 24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 69 74 79 84
25 through 69 Driver Age (Years)
years old.”
Female drivers under age 50 have a lower fatality rate than their male
counterparts, on a per mile driven basis, while the rate is essentially
the same for both male and female drivers over 50 years of age, with the
exception of the oldest group (Figure 2).
Table 3. Involvement of Drivers 15 to 20 Years Old in Fatal Crashes, 1990 and 2000
1990 2000 Percentage Change, 1990-2000
Number
Percentage Percentage Percentage
Total Age 15-20 of Total Total Age 15-20 of Total Total Age 15-20 Age 15-20
Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes
Total 58,893 9,050 15.4 57,090 8,155 14.3 -3% -10% -7%
Male 44,281 6,831 15.4 41,407 5,822 14.1 -6% -15% -8%
Female 13,726 2,219 16.2 14,654 2,333 15.9 +7% +5% -2%
Driver Fatalities
Total 25,750 4,052 15.7 25,492 3,594 14.1 -1% -11% -10%
Male 19,610 3,111 15.9 18,762 2,620 14.0 -4% -16% -12%
Female 6,137 941 15.3 6,566 974 14.8 +7% +4% -3%
National Center for Statistics & Analysis u Research & Development u 400 Seventh Street, S.W. u Washington, D.C. 20590
Traffic Safety Facts 2000 — Young Drivers 4
Motorcycles
During 2000, 219 young motorcycle drivers (15-20 years old) were killed
and an additional 5,000 were injured.
Helmets are estimated to be 29 percent effective in preventing fatalities
among motorcyclists. NHTSA estimates that helmets saved the lives of
631 motorcyclists of all ages in 2000, and that if all motorcyclists had worn
helmets, an additional 382 lives could have been saved.
During 2000, 49 percent of the motorcycle drivers between 15
and 20 years old who were fatally injured in crashes were not wearing
helmets.
Of the young motorcycle drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2000,
more than one-fourth (28 percent) were either unlicensed or driving
with an invalid license.
Alcohol
“In 2000, 21 percent NHTSA defines a fatal traffic crash as being alcohol-related if either
of the young drivers a driver or a nonoccupant (e.g., pedestrian) had a blood alcohol
who were killed concentration (BAC) of 0.01 grams per deciliter (g/dl) or greater in a
police-reported traffic crash. Persons with a BAC of 0.10 g/dl or greater
in crashes were
involved in fatal crashes are considered to be intoxicated. This is the legal
intoxicated.” limit of intoxication in most states.
In 2000, 21 percent of the young drivers 15 to 20 years old who were killed
in crashes were intoxicated.
Table 4. Alcohol Involvement Among Drivers 15 to 20 Years Old
Involved in Fatal Crashes, 2000
Percentage with BAC Levels
Number of
Driver Status Drivers 0.00 g/dl 0.01-0.09 g/dl $0.10 g/dl
Surviving 4,561 84 8 9
Fatally Injured 3,594 70 8 21
Total 8,155 78 8 14
The severity of a crash increases with alcohol involvement. In 2000,
3 percent of the 15- to 20-year-old drivers involved in property-damage-
only crashes had been drinking, 5 percent of those involved in crashes
resulting in injury had been drinking, and 22 percent of those involved in
fatal crashes had been drinking.
The numbers of drivers 15 to 20 years old involved in fatal crashes who
were intoxicated dropped by 38 percent between 1990 and 2000.
National Center for Statistics & Analysis u Research & Development u 400 Seventh Street, S.W. u Washington, D.C. 20590
Traffic Safety Facts 2000 — Young Drivers 5
All states and the District of Columbia now have 21-year-old minimum
drinking age laws. NHTSA estimates that these laws have reduced traffic
fatalities involving drivers 18 to 20 years old by 13 percent and have saved
an estimated 20,043 lives since 1975. In 2000, an estimated 922 lives were
saved by minimum drinking age laws. Nineteen states and the District of
Columbia have set 0.08 g/dl as the legal intoxication limit, and all states
plus the District of Columbia have zero tolerance laws for drivers under the
age of 21 (it is illegal for drivers under 21 to drive with BAC levels of
0.02 g/dl or greater).
Figure 3. Cumulative Estimated Number of Lives Saved by Minimum
Drinking Age Laws, 1975-2000
20,043
19,121
18,220
17,359
16,513
15,667
14,816
13,968
“NHTSA estimates 13,152
that minimum
drinking age laws
have saved 20,043
lives since 1975.”
1975-92 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
For young drivers 15 to 20 years old, alcohol involvement is higher among
males than among females. In 2000, 26 percent of the young male drivers
involved in fatal crashes had been drinking at the time of the crash,
compared with 13 percent of the young female drivers involved in fatal
crashes.
Drivers are less likely to use restraints when they have been drinking.
In 2000, 69 percent of the young drivers of passenger vehicles involved in
fatal crashes who had been drinking were unrestrained. Of the young
drivers who had been drinking and were killed in crashes, 80 percent were
unrestrained.
For more information:
Information on young drivers is available from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NRD-31,
400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590. NCSA information can also be obtained by telephone or by
fax-on-demand at 1-800-934-8517. FAX messages should be sent to (202) 366-7078. General information on
highway traffic safety can be accessed by Internet users at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa. To report a
safety-related problem or to inquire about motor vehicle safety information, contact the Auto Safety Hotline at
1-800-424-9393.
National Center for Statistics & Analysis u Research & Development u 400 Seventh Street, S.W. u Washington, D.C. 20590
