Using a cell phone while driving is one of the worst decisions any one can make. So many deaths have been caused by being distracted from a cell phone. This is a problem for teenagers because it has caused so many deaths, and injuries! Here are the statistics.
National Teen Driving Statistics
In 2007, the latest year for which data are available, motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death among 13-19 year-old males and females in the United States. A total of 3,466 teenagers ages 13-19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2009. This is 60 percent fewer than in 1975 and 15 percent fewer than in 2008. Thirty-three percent of deaths among 13-19-year-olds occurred in motor vehicle crashes, 39 percent among females and 31 percent among males. 16-year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age. The crash rate per mile driven is twice as high for 16-year-olds as it is for 18- and 19-year-olds. About 2 out of every 3 teenagers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2009 were males. Sixty percent of teenage passenger deaths in 2009 occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager. Among deaths of passengers of all ages, 18 percent occurred when a teenager was driving. Statistics show that 16- and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger. Eighty-three percent of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths in 2009 were passenger vehicle occupants. The others were pedestrians (7 percent), motorcyclists (4 percent), bicyclists (2 percent), riders of all-terrain vehicles (2 percent), and people in other kinds of vehicles (2 percent). Fifty-five percent of motor vehicle crash deaths among teenagers in 2009 occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. In states with GDL programs that include at least five of the most important elements, there was a 20% reduction in fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers. In 2006 (latest data available) crashes involving 15- to 17-year-olds cost more than $34 billion nationwide in medical