Teenage Driving Accidents Keep Growing. Here’s Where Young Drivers Are Most at Risk.

A dangerous decade for teen drivers: Fatalities up 25% since 2013

Over the past decade, the number of people killed in road accidents involving young drivers across the U.S. has skyrocketed with a whopping 25% increase since 2013. It’s a sobering reminder that our roads are getting deadlier.

Unfortunately, young drivers are paying the highest price. With less experience behind the wheel and a higher tendency to engage in risky behaviors, they’ve been hit the hardest.

In this article, we’re diving into the data behind this alarming trend. We’ll explore why young drivers are at such high risk, look at some shocking statistics about teen accidents, and uncover which U.S. states are the safest and most dangerous for teen drivers.

Teen driver death statistics

• Teen driver deaths rose to 2,148 in 2023, marking a 5% increase from 2022 and a 25% jump over the past decade.
  
• The impact of these crashes doesn’t stop at the driver’s seat. In 2023, a total of 5,588 lives were lost in crashes involving a teen driver. That includes passengers, other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians.
  
  Teen driver crashes are not just a “teen problem.” They’re a public safety crisis with wide-reaching consequences, affecting parents, neighbors, and even complete strangers.
  
• Teen drivers are killing and being killed at rates far above their share of the road. They account for only 5.1% of all licensed drivers but 8.9% of drivers in fatal crashes.
• An estimated 180,209 teen drivers were injured in traffic crashes in 2023. While fatalities often dominate the narrative, injuries—many of them severe and even lifelong—are a key part of the crisis.
  
• 30% of young drivers killed had some alcohol in their system; rates reach 1 in 3 at age 18.
  
• Speeding and lack of seat belt use combined are implicated in a huge share of fatal crashes—54% of fatally injured young drivers weren’t buckled up.

Where is teen crash risk highest in the U.S.?

We ranked states by the fatal crash involvement rate per 100,000 licensed young drivers (ages 15–20), using the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s latest Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data and state licensing rolls (2023).

For reference, the national average is 42.4 per 100,000.

10 states with the highest teen fatal crash risk (2023)

• Kentucky has a fatality rate of 138.36, which is over 3 times the national average. Despite having fewer deaths (41) than some other states, its rate is disproportionately high.
  
• Tennessee leads in raw numbers with 88 young driver deaths, even though its rate (67.48) ranks 5th. This suggests a larger population of young drivers or more exposure to risk.
  
• Arkansas has a moderately high fatality rate (62.6) but only 31 deaths, likely due to a smaller youth driver population.
  
• States like Montana, Arkansas, and Kentucky—which have more rural roads—appear high on the list.
  
• States like Mississippi (74.33) and Arizona (74.05) have both high rates and high death counts, making them hotspots for young driver fatalities.

Lowest teen fatal crash risk (per 100,000)

• New Hampshire has the lowest teen fatal crash rate in the country at just 15.61 per 100K, which is 63% lower than the national average.
  
• Every state listed has a fatality rate at least 35% lower than the national average, with most sitting around half the national rate.
  
• 5 out of 10 states with the lowest rates are in the Northeast (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey).
  
• Kentucky (138.36) has a rate nearly 9 times higher than New Hampshire (15.61). That’s a staggering disparity in teen driver risk—geography, policy, and infrastructure likely play a role.

States with the highest teen involvement in fatal crashes

States with the lowest teen involvement in fatal crashes

• Kansas (18.90%) has the highest proportion of crash deaths involving young drivers at nearly 1 in 5. This doesn’t mean Kansas has the highest number of teen deaths, but rather that teen-involved crashes are a bigger slice of the total fatal crash pie.
  
• New Hampshire, which had the lowest teen fatality rate (15.61 per 100k), also has one of the lowest teen involvement percentages (6.20%).
  
• Utah, despite being among the states with the lowest teen fatality rates, has a very high proportion of crashes involving teens (17.90%).

Fatal habits: Key behaviors that put teen drivers in danger

Teen drivers aren’t just more likely to crash, they’re more likely to die when they do. Here’s why:

Not buckling up: “It’s just a short drive…”

More than half (54%) of young drivers who died in 2023 weren’t wearing seat belts. It’s one of the most preventable aspects of teen driver deaths and also one of the most consistently ignored.

Drunk driving

Despite legal restrictions and awareness campaigns, 30% of teen drivers killed in 2023 had alcohol in their system. Even more troubling:

• 1 in 3 drivers killed at age 18 tested positive for alcohol.

   

• 26% of all young drivers killed had a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher, despite it being illegal for anyone under 21 to drink at all.
  

• Among those who drank before driving, seat belt use was even lower, suggesting a clustering of risky decisions.
  

• NHTSA reports a strong correlation between unbuckled status and nighttime/weekend driving—when teens are most at risk.

Speeding: The need for (too much) speed

Teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate how fast is too fast. In fact, speeding is a factor in nearly 1 in 3 fatal crashes involving teen drivers. Whether it’s showing off to friends or just running late, the outcome can be tragic.

Among male drivers aged 15–20 involved in fatal crashes, 37% were speeding—the highest rate of any age group. Speeding does two things:

• Increases crash severity
• Decreases time to react or correct mistakes

It’s worse because teens are more likely to misjudge gaps, underestimate speed, and panic in high-stress driving situations.

Distracted driving

Calling, texting, changing the music, all these behaviors put teens at risk while driving. At highway speeds, looking down at a phone for 5 seconds is like driving the length of a football field blindfolded.

Even hands-free systems don’t solve the problem—cognitive distraction can be just as impairing.

Moreover, passengers are a key source of distraction: Conversations, peer behavior, or pressure to engage in risky stunts (e.g., speeding, loud music, erratic driving) contribute directly to crash risk.

Combine that with inexperience, and it’s no surprise that teen drivers are more likely to crash while distracted than any other age group.

Many of these crashes occur late at night, on roads with poor visibility or curves that are unforgiving at high speeds.

Males at significantly higher risk

The gender gap in teen driving fatalities is stark and consistent:

• Fatal crash rate for young males: 60.9 per 100,000 licensed drivers
• For young females: 22.5 per 100,000

That’s nearly 3x the risk, and it mirrors other risk-taking behaviors among young males, especially around speeding, drinking, and seat belt use.

How do leading states reduce risk?

All 50 states have some form of a GDL (Graduated Driver Licensing) system, but the stringency and enforcement vary widely. The safest states share similar core policies:

States like New Jersey, Utah, and Massachusetts have strong GDL policies that delay full licensure, reduce nighttime and peer-driving exposure, and increase parental oversight.

Enforcement

Policy is only effective if enforced and internalized. Leading states support their laws with:

• Universal seat belt enforcement
  
• Sustained public education campaigns focused on youth, families, and schools
  
• Parental contracts, which studies show improve compliance and awareness
  
• Visible enforcement blitzes targeting high-risk behaviors (e.g., texting while driving)

Utah, for example, pairs GDL with driver education integrated into high school curriculums and data-backed PSAs targeting rural teens.

Roadway improvement

Safer states often feature:

• Urban or suburban traffic design: Slower speeds, more signage, better lighting.
  
• Roundabouts and rumble strips: Proven crash reducers.
  
• Safer pedestrian/bike infrastructure: Reducing multi-user fatalities.
  
• Access to public transportation: Reduces total teen miles driven.

Urbanized states like Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut benefit from less exposure to high-speed rural roads, which account for a disproportionate share of fatal teen crashes.

What can parents, teens, and policymakers do?

Parents

• Enforce seat belt use, always. No exceptions, no short trips. Teens are far more likely to buckle up if parents consistently do.
  
• Limit nighttime and peer driving, even if state law doesn’t. Most fatal crashes happen late at night, often with other teens in the car.
  
• Use a parent-teen driving agreement: These written contracts set expectations around curfews, passengers, phone use, and consequences.
  
• Provide plenty of supervised driving hours, more than the legal minimum. Teens need exposure to rain, rural roads, night driving, and high-speed situations with adult guidance.
  
• Talk about speeding, distraction, and alcohol. Even brief, direct conversations can help teens internalize the risks.

Teens

• Always wear your seat belt, even in the back seat, and even for short trips.
  
• Limit distractions: Set your phone to “Do Not Disturb” while driving, keep music at a reasonable volume, and avoid emotional conversations.
  
• Say no to dangerous passengers: Don’t drive people who pressure you to speed, use your phone, or ignore safety rules.
  
• Never drive after drinking or using cannabis, even a small amount. Impairment starts well below the legal limit.
  
• Follow your state’s GDL rules every time. They exist because they save lives.

Policymakers

• Robust GDL laws: Require a long learner’s phase, restrict passengers and night driving, and prohibit any alcohol for drivers under 21.
  
• Seat belt enforcement: Officers should be able to stop a driver solely for not wearing a seat belt.
  
• Sustained funding for public education and enforcement: One-time campaigns don’t change culture. Long-term investment might.
  
• Data sharing and transparency: Use crash data to target high-risk areas, design better road infrastructure, and hold licensing programs accountable.

Methodology

Bumper analyzed NHTSA’s Young Drivers: 2023 Data (FARS 2023 Annual Report File - most recent data available) and Federal Highway Administration licensing files (DL-201/DL-220) to produce all counts and rates. “Young driver” follows NHTSA’s definition of ages 15–20; we use “teen” and “young driver” interchangeably. State risk was ranked by the young driver involvement rate in fatal crashes per 100,000 licensed 15–20-year-old drivers. The “share of a state’s fatalities involving a young driver” comes from NHTSA. National trends (fatalities, injuries, overrepresentation) and risk behaviors (speeding, restraints, alcohol) are from NHTSA data, with policy context from CDC and GDL summaries (IIHS/GHSA and state DMV/DPS pages).

Notes: small-population states can show volatile rates; some states’ licensing totals include a small number of under‑16 drivers; 2023 figures are from FARS ARF.

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