November 2004 A Brief Statistical Summary DOT HS 809 816

Fatalities in Crashes Involving Young (15-20) 

Drivers by State

Traffic Safety Facts

Crash•Stats

National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., SW, Washington, DC 20590 

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 

to 20 year olds (based on 2001 figures, which are the latest 

mortality data currently available from the National Center 

for Health Statistics). The National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration’s (NHTSA) National Center for Statistics 

and Analysis (NCSA) recently released the annual crash 

statistics for the year 2003. A total of 42,643 people died on 

the Nation’s highways. The numbers were made available 

from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 

which annually collects crash statistics from 50 States, the 

District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

In 2003, there were 8,666 persons killed in crashes involving 

a young driver. Young drivers are drivers between the ages 

of 15-20. Out of the 8,666 persons killed, 3,657 persons (42 

percent) were young drivers, 2,384 persons (28 percent) were 

passengers of vehicles with young drivers, 1,979 persons (23 

percent) were occupants of other vehicles and 646 persons 

(7 percent) were non-occupants like pedestrians, bicyclists 

and occupants of vehicles not in transport. The data show 

that a majority (58 percent) of the people killed were not 

the young drivers in the crash. Table 1 shows 5-year trend 

data of fatalities in crashes involving young drivers. Table 2 

(overleaf) shows the fatalities in crashes involving a young 

driver by state and fatality type from the 2003 FARS Annual 

Report file (ARF).

Table 1

Fatalities in Crashes Involving a Young Driver (Ages 15-20) by 

Year and Fatality Type

 Passengers Occupants 

 Young of Young of Other Non- 

 Year Drivers Drivers Vehicles Occupants Total

1999 3,564 2,578 2,245 752 9,139

 2000 3,621 2,535 2,185 756 9,097

 2001 3,617 2,529 2,172 746 9,064

 2002 3,838 2,565 2,153 695 9,251

 2003 3,657 2,384 1,979 646 8,666

Source: NCSA, FARS 1999-2002 (Final) and 2003 (ARF)

Definitions

Passengers of young drivers are the people who were 

traveling in the vehicle with the young driver at the time of 

the crash; occupants of other vehicles are the persons who 

were not in the same vehicle as the young driver but were 

in other vehicles which were involved in the young driver 

crash, and non-occupants are pedestrians, bicyclists or other 

persons who were involved in the young driver crash but 

were not in any of the vehicles that were involved.

For questions regarding the data reported in this note, contact Umesh G. Shankar [202-366-5558] or Cherian Varghese 

[202-366-1114]. Some of the findings in this note were obtained from the following NCSA publication: DOT HS 809 

774. This crash stats and other general information on highway traffic safety may be accessed by internet users at: 

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/deparments/nrd-30/ncsa/AvailInf.html
National Center for Statistics and Analysis 400 Seventh St., SW, Washington, DC 20590 

Table 2

Fatalities in Crashes Involving a Young Driver (Ages 15-20) by State and Fatality Type

 Passengers of Occupants of 

State Young Drivers Young Drivers Other Vehicles Non-Occupants Total

Alabama 92 65 40 15 212

Alaska 11 1 5 1 18

Arizona 69 54 54 9 186

Arkansas 58 30 27 9 124

California 277 256 189 88 810

Colorado 65 42 30 10 147

Connecticut 28 20 6 2 56

Delaware 17 11 5 3 36

Dist of Columbia 4 1 2 4 11

Florida 249 118 150 80 597

Georgia 140 82 73 24 319

Hawaii 9 8 13 2 32

Idaho 29 17 9 0 55

Illinois 123 109 83 23 338

Indiana 84 61 54 7 206

Iowa 42 28 26 4 100

Kansas 51 38 22 2 113

Kentucky 79 34 39 8 160

Louisiana 88 43 37 16 184

Maine 13 12 11 2 38

Maryland 50 38 28 11 127

Massachusetts 43 27 15 10 95

Michigan 106 57 76 25 264

Minnesota 67 38 37 9 151

Mississippi 71 40 38 8 157

Missouri 130 73 63 15 281

Montana 31 13 5 3 52

Nebraska 31 23 13 1 68

Nevada 27 26 12 10 75

New Hampshire 14 6 2 2 24

New Jersey 43 31 32 17 123

New Mexico 33 43 11 8 95

New York 107 64 52 34 257

North Carolina 136 92 74 16 318

North Dakota 13 7 7 2 29

Ohio 125 80 78 12 295

Oklahoma 50 39 35 6 130

Oregon 40 37 22 3 102

Pennsylvania 157 93 63 23 336

Rhode Island 11 8 5 2 26

South Carolina 82 45 36 8 171

South Dakota 14 17 5 1 37

Tennessee 108 55 42 11 216

Texas 332 219 203 51 805

Utah 37 16 15 7 75

Vermont 11 5 1 1 18

Virginia 81 43 38 12 174

Washington 53 41 26 15 135

West Virginia 32 24 12 3 71

Wisconsin 84 45 56 9 194

Wyoming 10 9 2 2 23

National (US) 3,657 2,384 1,979 646 8,666

Puerto Rico 19 23 15 14 71

Source: NCSA, FARS 2003 (ARF)