Study Explains the Staggering Cost of Insuring Teen Drivers

Ask any parent who has just added a kid to the family’s insurance policy, and they’ll tell you how expensive it is to have a teen behind the wheel. But the overall cost of teen driving is as tragic as it is staggering: According to a recent report from AAA, car accidents involving drivers aged 15 to 17 cost society more than $34 billion in medical expenses, property damage and related costs. 

According to an analysis conducted for AAA, in 2006 drivers ages 15 to 17 were involved in approximately 974,000 crashes that injured 406,427 people and killed 2,541. Here are some more sobering statistics:

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among U.S. teens, accounting for 36 percent of all deaths in this age group.

The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. Also, per miles driven, teens ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Risk is highest at age 16, and the crash rate per miles driven is twice as high for 16 year olds as it is for 18 and 19 year olds, according to the IIHS.

IIHS statistics show that 16- and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.

Please talk and practice with your teen about safety behind the wheel and on the road