Older Teen Drivers More Likely To Have A Fatal Crash

By Nick Gale, WLS-AM 890 News

(CHICAGO) A new report shows bigger safety gains for younger drivers, but 18 to 20-year old’s are more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than other drivers.
A new report from the Governor’ Highway Safety Association shows much progress has been made in reducing teen traffic deaths over the past decade, but teens are still 1.6 times more likely than an adult to die in a crash. Teen driver deaths actually spiked 10 percent in 2015.
Jim Graham, global manager with the Ford Driving Skills for Life program, says  teens are waiting to get their drivers licenses, in part because less schools are offering drivers education.
“If you break down teens, the young teens, 15 – 17, have had a significant decrease in crashes and fatalities. A 56-percent decrease over the last 10 years whereas older teens, 18, 19 and 20 have had a smaller decline,” Graham said.
Graham says parents should look for resources to help their teen drivers and also encourage more supervised drive time.