National Center for Injury Prevention and Control 

Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention

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What’s the Issue?

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death 

for u.s. teens. In 2009, about 3,000 teens in the united 

states ages 15 to 19 were killed, and in 2008 more 

than 350,000 were treated in emergency departments 

for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes.1,2 

In one year alone, crash-related injuries and deaths 

among teens ages 15 to 19 cost $14 billion in medical 

care and productivity losses.3

teen motor vehicle crashes are preventable. there are 

proven policies to improve the safety of young drivers 

on the road. 

{ 8 } In 2009, eight teens 

died a day from motor 

vehicle crashes.
What Do We KnoW?

among all age groups, teen drivers are at the greatest 

risk. Per mile driven, teen drivers are four times more likely 

than adult drivers to crash.4 Factors that contribute to 

teen crashes and injuries include the following: 

Driver inexperience: Crash rates are highest during 

the first year a teen has a license.4

Driving with teen passengers: Crash risk goes up 

when teens drive with other teens in the car. the risk 

increases with each additional passenger.5

Nighttime driving: For all ages, fatal crashes are more 

likely to occur at night, but the risk is highest for teens.6

Not wearing seat belts: Compared with other age 

groups, teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use.7

Distracted driving: Distractions – such as talking or 

texting on cell phones, eating, or playing with the 

radio – increase teen drivers’ risk of being in a crash.

{ 3 } 8

A teen dies in a car 

crash every 3 hours.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause 

of death for teens (ages 15-19, 2007)1

Motor Vehicle 

Injuries 35%

all other Causes 15%

heart 

Disease 

3%

Cancer 

5%

suicide

11%

other unitentional 

Injuries 14%

homicide 17%

Younger drivers have more crashes9

16-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65-74

75-84

85+

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

Crashes Per 1000 drivers

Driver age
What Can We Do?

Graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems are proven 

effective in keeping teens safe on the road. they help 

new drivers gain experience under low-risk conditions 

by granting driving privileges in stages. as teens move 

through the stages of GDL, they are given extra privileges, 

such as driving at night or driving with passengers. 

Research indicates that the most comprehensive GDL 

systems prevent crashes and save lives.11 While most 

states have a three-stage GDL system, rules and requirements vary considerably. states can best protect 

their teens by putting strong three-stage GDL systems 

in place.

We can do more to keep teen drivers safe. existing policies can be strengthened and made more comprehensive, and new policies can be proposed. Improving 

policies will prevent crashes and safeguard teens and {175} other road users from needless injuries and deaths.

If every state had a strong 

GDL policy, we could save 

175 lives and prevent 

about 350,000 injuries 

each year.
CDC ReCoMMenDatIons

•	 Graduated driver licensing policies that include 

a three-stage system:

1. Learner’s permit

•	 16-years-old as the minimum age.

•	 Mandatory holding period of at least 

six months.

2. Probationary license

•	 no unsupervised nighttime driving from at 

least 10:00 pm to 5:00 am.

•	 Limit the number of teen passengers that 

may accompany a teen driver without adult 

supervision to zero or one (not including 

family members).

3. Full license

•	 18-years-old as the minimum age.

•	 Prohibit cell phone use (talking and texting) for 

teenage drivers.

•	 allow teenage drivers to be stopped and ticketed if 

they or their passengers are not wearing seat belts. 

this is known as a primary enforcement seat belt law.

•	 Vigorously enforce zero tolerance policies for 

underage drinking and driving. a zero tolerance 

law makes it illegal for a person under the age of 

21 to drive with any measurable amount of 

alcohol in their blood.
How state GDL systems measure up11

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 

ranks state licensing systems for young drivers, 

giving points for key components of GDL. Even 

in states ranked “good,” there is still room for 

improvement. For more information, visit:

www.iihs.org/laws/graduatedlicenseintro.aspx.

Updated in August 2010

good fair marginal

POLICY

IMPACT

Policy Impact is a series of issue briefs from CDC’s Injury Center 

highlighting key public health issues and important, sciencebased policy actions that can be taken to address them.

For more information on Teen Driver Safety, contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety • cdcinfo@cdc.gov • 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4643) | TTY 1-888-232-6348

For references, visit: www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teenbrief

October 2010

CS216393-B

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