Teens Are Speeding – And Dying – On America’s Roads, New Report Examines ‘Lethal Habit’

Traffic deaths have surged during the Covid-19 pandemic despite fewer drivers on the roads, and speeding is thought to be a major factor. It’s too early to know exactly how many of these fatalities involve young drivers, but a new report examined the significant role speeding has played in teen driver fatalities in recent years. Speeding is risky behavior for any driver, but from 2015 to 2019, teens and their passengers accounted for a greater proportion of speeding-related deaths than all other motorist age groups — 43% compared to 30%. 

Those are the highlights of “Teens and Speeding: Breaking the Deadly Cycle,” that detailed the  “troubling and persistent trend” of teen drivers speeding – and dying – on America’s Roads. The report was released on Tuesday by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), a nonprofit organization representing state highway safety offices, in partnership with the Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company. 

“Our country has a speeding problem that has only worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said in a statement. “Thousands of people die needlessly on our roads because some drivers mistakenly think less traffic means they can speed and nothing bad will happen. The data tell us that teen drivers are the most likely to be tempted to speed, so the need to address this issue is more critical than ever given traffic death trends during the pandemic.”

The new analysis, conducted by Richard Retting of Sam Schwartz Consulting, incorporated recently released data that includes state-by-state crash statistics and comparisons on teen speeding-related fatalities. 

The report recounted some of the main reasons for the high number of teen driving deaths, which range from inexperience behind the wheel to the presence of teen passengers. The risk of a teen driver being involved in a speeding-related fatal crash, for example, increases exponentially with each additional peer in the vehicle. The driver is likely to be male and unbelted.

Practical tools and resources were identified to encourage parents to get involved and address speeding as well as other safety issues, to help “rein in this lethal driving habit.” These include: becoming familiar with state graduated driver licensing laws and ensuring that their teen adheres to them; signing parent-teen driving agreements; making sure teen driver education and training is completed, and using in-vehicle technology. In addition, the report reinforced how essential it is for parents to set good examples, as teens often learn bad habits from them and other adults.

“Teens don’t see speeding as a serious problem,” Jim Graham, manager of the Ford Motor Company Fund, said in a statement, “and parents likely don’t recognize how rampant it is for novice drivers, so teaching them about the impact is critical.”

For more information, click here and here. To learn more about a webinar based on the report, scheduled for February 4, 2021, click here.