• The leading cause of death for children up to age 19 is automobile crashes.*
• Auto crashes claim 4 times as many lives than unintentional firearm deaths.*
• From 1979 to 1998, auto injuries claimed the lives of 476 Delaware children.*
• In Delaware, traffic crashes also top the list of the leading causes of injury-related hospitalization, at 27.1%.*
• Riding in a bus is 91 times safer than in an automobile. *+
• 53% of teen vehicle deaths occur on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.**
• In 1996, 63% of teen passenger deaths resulted when another teen was driving.**
• Nearly 50% of traffic deaths were alcohol related and more than half of those deaths involved 16 to 20 year olds.***
• Sixteen year olds are commonly in crashes that involve high speeds and high auto occupancy.****
• Riding in a train is 15 times safer than in an automobile. *+

Teen drivers are 12 times more likely to die in a crash than their parents - and the rates climb even higher with passengers in the car! But driver education and graduated licensing furnish only a small part of the answer.

Related Links

• safeyoungdrivers.com
• drivehomesafe.com