When a teenager starts to drive, parents are torn between relief and fear—relief that the family taxi service can go out of business but very afraid of the loss of a remaining piece of control. The fear is valid; teenage drivers represent a major hazard. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 5,610 teenagers died in the United States from crash injuries in 2004. Such injuries are by far the leading public health problem among people 13 to 19 years old. The risk is highest during the first years of being licensed.

Many teenagers die as passengers in motor vehicle crashes. Sixty-two percent of teenage passenger deaths in 2004 occurred in crashes in which another teenager was driving. Teenagers far exceed all other age groups in terms of per capita deaths as both drivers and passengers, but their fatality rates as passengers are much more extreme compared with those for older drivers.

Among teenage drivers, 16-year-olds have the highest rates of teenage passenger deaths per licensed driver and per mile driven. The combination of inexperience behind the wheel and immaturity produces a pattern of fatal crashes among 16-year-olds that includes the highest percentage of crashes involving speeding, the highest percentage of single-vehicle crashes, and the highest percentage of crashes with driver error.

What can be done? The most effective policies limit teenagers’ driving exposure, such as night driving and passenger restrictions for beginning drivers. Two years ago, the Illinois Graduated Driving Law changed to reflect new passenger limitations for beginning teen drivers for the first six months of a person’s license or until the driver is 18, whichever occurs first. The number of passengers in a vehicle also is limited to one person under age 20, unless the additional passenger(s) is a sibling, step-sibling, child, or step-child of the driver. These restrictions reduce the likelihood a driver will be distracted by a car full of fellow teens. Another distraction was addressed this past July with a law that prohibits the use of cell phones for drivers under age 18, unless it’s for emergency purposes.

There are two publications by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that will give you more information: Beginning Teenage Drivers and Graduated Driver Licensing. Check with your agent or contact www.highwaysafety.org. Do what you can to help your teen drivers. TPW