Such injuries are by far the leading public health problem for young people 13-19 years old. The crash risk is particularly high during the first years in which teenagers are eligible for driver's licenses. Teenage drivers have very high rates of both fatal and nonfatal crashes compared with drivers of other ages. This is true whether the rates are based on the total number of teenagers, on the number with licenses, or on miles driven. It is most extreme when crash involvement is based on miles driven.
Many teenagers die as passengers in motor vehicles.
Sixty-three percent of teenage passenger deaths in 1996 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 passenger fatality rates are much more extreme compared with those of older drivers. And the youngest drivers have the worst record in terms of passenger deaths. More teenage passenger deaths occur when a 16 year-old is driving than when a person of any other age is at the wheel. Collision losses for teenagers, as for drivers of other ages, are highest for small and mid-size sports models and lowest for large station wagons and passenger vans.