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FATALITY FACTS 2007

Teenagers

In every motorized country teenage drivers represent a major hazard. Until the mid 1990s most US states allowed teens to get full-privilege licenses at an earlier age than in most other countries, and little driving experience typically was required prior to licensure. The result was greatly elevated crash risk among young drivers. As more and more states have adopted graduated licensing systems, which phase in full driving privileges, the crash problem has decreased 10-30 percent. Ulmer, R.G.; Preusser, D.F.; Williams, A.F.; Ferguson, S.A.; and Farmer, C.M. 2000. Effect of Florida's graduated licensing program on the crash rate of teenage drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention 32:527-32. Shope, J.T.; Molnar, L.J.; Elliott, M.R.; and Waller, P.F. 2001. Graduated driver licensing in Michigan: early impact on motor vehicle crashes among 16-year-old drivers. Journal of the American Medical Association 286:1593-98. Foss, R.D.; Feaganes, J.R.; and Rodgman, E.A. 2001. Initial effects of graduated driver licensing on 16-year-old driver crashes in North Carolina. Journal of the American Medical Association 286:1588-92. Governor's Highway Safety Office. 2001. Review of Ohio's graduated driver license program. Columbus, OH: Ohio Department of Public Safety. Mayhew, D.R.; Simpson, H.M.; Des Groseilliers, M.; and Williams, A.F. 2001. Impact of the graduated driver licensing program in Nova Scotia. Journal of Crash Prevention and Injury Control 2:179-92. Zwicker, T.J.; Williams, A.F.; Chaudhary, N.K.; and Farmer, C.M. 2006. Evaluation of California's graduated licensing system. Arlington, VA: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Teenagers drive less than all but the oldest people, but their numbers of crashes and crash deaths are disproportionately high. Lyman, S.; Ferguson, S.A.; Braver, E.R.; and Williams, A.F. 2002. Older driver involvements in police reported crashes and fatal crashes: trends and projections. Injury Prevention 8:116-20. Based on crashes of all severities, the crash rate per mile driven for 16-19 year-olds is 4 times the risk for older drivers. Risk is highest at age 16. In fact, the crash rate per mile driven is twice as high for 16 year-olds as it is for 18-19 year-olds.

Crash rates for young drivers are high largely because of their immaturity combined with driving inexperience. The immaturity is apparent in young drivers' risky driving practices such as speeding and tailgating. At the same time, teenagers' lack of experience behind the wheel makes it difficult for them to recognize and respond to hazards. Fatal crashes involving young drivers typically are single-vehicle crashes and often involve driver error and/or speeding. They often occur when other young people are in the vehicle with the young driver, so teenagers are disproportionately involved in crashes as passengers as well as drivers. Chen, L-H.; Baker, S.P.; Braver, E.R.; and Li, G. 2000. Carrying passengers as a risk factor for crashes fatal to 16- and 17-yar-old drivers. Journal of the American Medical Association 283:1578-82.

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Data subsections:

Overiew Drivers and passengers in passenger vehicles Population and mileage rates When teenagers died Alcohol involvement

Overiew

A total of 4,946 teenagers ages 13-19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2007. This is 43 percent fewer than in 1975, and 4 percent fewer than in 2006. About 2 out of every 3 teenagers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2007 were males. Since 1975 teenage motor vehicle crash deaths have decreased more among males (50 percent) than among females (24 percent).

Teenage motor vehicle deaths by gender, 1975-2007

Motor vehicle crash deaths among 13-19 year-olds by gender, 1975-2007
Year	Male		Female		Total*
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1975	6,532	75	2,215	25	8,748
1976	6,826	73	2,530	27	9,356
1977	6,983	72	2,650	28	9,633
1978	7,295	73	2,645	27	9,940
1979	7,280	73	2,639	27	9,920
1980	6,932	73	2,591	27	9,524
1981	6,014	72	2,301	28	8,315
1982	5,354	73	1,969	27	7,323
1983	4,850	71	1,955	29	6,805
1984	4,947	71	2,005	29	6,952
1985	4,715	70	2,022	30	6,737
1986	5,280	71	2,182	29	7,466
1987	5,107	70	2,186	30	7,293
1988	5,036	70	2,204	30	7,242
1989	4,528	68	2,158	32	6,688
1990	4,420	69	1,944	31	6,364
1991	3,891	68	1,867	32	5,760
1992	3,495	67	1,713	33	5,215
1993	3,678	68	1,742	32	5,421
1994	3,770	67	1,859	33	5,632
1995	3,702	65	1,970	35	5,675
1996	3,855	66	1,963	34	5,819
1997	3,715	65	2,014	35	5,730
1998	3,649	65	1,960	35	5,610
1999	3,745	65	2,007	35	5,752
2000	3,759	66	1,925	34	5,685
2001	3,735	67	1,859	33	5,594
2002	3,939	66	2,015	34	5,954
2003	3,772	66	1,946	34	5,718
2004	3,696	65	1,948	35	5,645
2005	3,496	66	1,803	34	5,300
2006	3,415	66	1,744	34	5,159
2007	3,258	66	1,687	34	4,946
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Teenagers accounted for 10 percent of the US population in 2007 and 12 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths. They comprised 14 percent of passenger vehicle (cars, pickups, SUVs, and vans) occupant deaths among all ages, 7 percent of pedestrian deaths, 5 percent of motorcyclist deaths, and 12 percent of bicyclist deaths.

US teenage and total population, 2007
Teen population	Total population	% Teens of total population
29,775,943	301,621,157	10

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths as percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths, 2007
Death type	Teen motor vehicle deaths	Motor vehicle deaths for all ages	% Teen motor vehicle deaths of all motor vehicle deaths
Passenger vehicle occupant	4,149	28,896	14
Pedestrian	342	4,654	7
Motorcyclist	228	5,037	5
Bicyclist	87	696	12
Other	61	1,776	3
Total	4,946	41,059	12

Eighty-four percent of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths in 2007 were passenger vehicle occupants. The others were pedestrians (7 percent), motorcyclists (5 percent), bicyclists (2 percent), riders of all-terrain vehicles (2 percent), and people in other kinds of vehicles (1 percent).

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by type and age, 2007
Age	Passenger vehicle occupants		Motorcyclists		Pedestrians		Bicyclists		All-terrain vehicle riders		Other		Total motor vehicle deaths*
Age	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
13	102	62	1	1	27	16	17	10	11	7	7	4	165
14	166	69	13	5	34	14	16	7	8	3	4	2	241
15	268	76	6	2	48	14	16	5	9	3	5	1	352
16	615	87	10	1	49	7	11	2	10	1	9	1	704
17	865	89	21	2	56	6	12	1	16	2	7	1	977
18	1,104	88	56	4	75	6	5	<1	8	1	13	1	1,261
19	1,029	83	121	10	53	4	10	1	17	1	16	1	1,246
Total	4,149	84	228	5	342	7	87	2	79	2	61	1	4,946
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In 2005, 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. Thirty-three percent of deaths among 13-19 year-olds occurred in motor vehicle crashes, 40 percent among females and 31 percent among males.

Leading causes of death among teenagers by gender, 2005
Cause of death	Male	Female	Total
Motor vehicles	3,452	1,801	5,253
Homicide	1,915	304	2,219
Suicide	1,445	364	1,809
Malignant neoplasms	576	405	981

Motor vehicle crash deaths as a percent of deaths from all causes by gender and age, 2005
Age	Male			Female			Total*
Age	Motor vehicle deaths	All deaths	%	Motor vehicle deaths	All deaths	%	Motor vehicle deaths	All deaths	%
<5	325	18,783	2	270	14,413	2	596	33,196	2
5- 9	316	1,556	20	268	1,281	21	585	2,837	21
10-12	198	1,022	19	150	735	20	348	1,757	20
13-15	501	2,303	22	329	1,219	27	831	3,522	24
16-17	1,165	3,379	34	695	1,487	47	1,860	4,866	38
18-19	1,830	5,479	33	779	1,844	42	2,609	7,323	36
20-24	4,526	15,623	29	1,375	4,908	28	5,901	20,531	29
25-29	2,982	14,242	21	895	5,326	17	3,878	19,568	20
30-59	13,310	260,810	5	5,111	157,340	3	18,421	418,150	4
60-69	2,169	185,853	1	1,145	134,206	1	3,314	320,059	1
≥ 70	3,025	698,426	<1	2,138	917,527	<1	5,167	1,615,953	<1
*Total includes other and/or unknowns
Note: Data on motor vehicle crashes come from FARS. Data on other causes of death come from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Drivers and passengers in passenger vehicles

In 2007, 58 percent of deaths among passenger vehicle occupants ages 16-19 were drivers.

Passenger vehicle teenage occupant deaths by age and seating position, 2007
Age	Driver		Passenger		Total*
Age	Num	%	Num	%	Num
13	3	3	99	97	102
14	15	9	151	91	166
15	51	19	217	81	268
16	294	48	321	52	615
17	478	55	384	44	865
18	668	61	429	39	1,104
19	659	64	367	36	1,029
Total	2,168	52	1,968	47	4,149
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Sixty-one percent of teenage passenger deaths in 2007 occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager. Among deaths of passengers of all ages, 20 percent occurred when a teenager was driving.

Passenger vehicle passenger deaths by passenger age and driver age, 2007
Passenger age	Driver age												All ages*
	13-19		20-24		25-29		30-59		60-69		≥ 70		All ages*
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num
<13	78	9	145	16	172	19	465	52	23	3	6	1	894
13-19	1,200	61	381	19	90	5	264	13	8	<1	4	<1	1,968
20-24	207	16	660	52	206	16	181	14	3	<1	0	0	1,277
25-29	43	6	198	29	214	31	215	31	4	1	3	<1	687
30-59	99	5	244	12	263	12	1,323	62	120	6	40	2	2,120
60-69	5	1	9	2	12	3	179	42	159	37	64	15	430
≥ 70	12	1	15	1	12	1	274	27	142	14	556	55	1,014
All ages*	1,649	20	1,659	20	978	12	2,918	35	462	5	675	8	8,439
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In 2007, belt use among fatally injured drivers ages 16-19 (40 percent) was higher than among fatally injured drivers ages 20-29 (34 percent) but lower than among drivers 30 and older. Among fatally injured 16-19 year-old occupants, belt use among passengers (31 percent) was considerably lower than among drivers (40 percent). Note that belt use among those fatally injured is not always accurately recorded, but it gives an indication of relative belt use rates in serious crashes by age group.

Seat belt use among fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants by age and seating position, 2007
Age	Drivers						Passengers
	Belt used		Unbelted		Unknown		Belt used		Unbelted		Unknown
	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
13	1	33	1	33	1	33	40	40	52	53	7	7
14	3	20	12	80	0	0	52	34	89	59	10	7
15	16	31	32	63	3	6	60	28	131	60	26	12
16	130	44	141	48	23	8	119	37	175	55	27	8
17	215	45	234	49	29	6	122	32	234	61	28	7
18	270	40	342	51	56	8	125	29	258	60	46	11
19	226	34	368	56	65	10	104	28	217	59	46	13
20-24	1,062	34	1,820	58	243	8	343	27	782	61	152	12
25-29	734	34	1,217	57	183	9	168	24	449	65	70	10
30-59	3,640	42	4,389	51	638	7	777	37	1,151	54	192	9
60-69	916	55	646	39	99	6	254	59	149	35	27	6
≥ 70	1,637	63	790	30	176	7	710	70	261	26	43	4
Total*	8,857	43	9,999	49	1,525	7	3,388	40	4,311	51	740	9
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Among passenger vehicle drivers ages 16-19 involved in fatal crashes in 2007, 48 percent were involved in single-vehicle crashes. This was similar to the proportion for drivers ages 20-24 (47 percent) but higher than for drivers ages 25 and older (37 percent).

Passenger vehicle drivers in fatal crashes by age and crash type, 2007
	Single vehicle		Multiple vehicle		All crashes *
	Num	%	Num	%	Num
16-19	2,357	48	2,568	52	4,927
20-24	3,202	47	3,579	53	6,782
25-29	2,100	43	2,804	57	4,907
30-59	7,477	38	12,277	62	19,771
60-69	1,036	32	2,251	68	3,288
≥ 70	1,098	28	2,859	72	3,961
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Population and mileage rates

From 1975 to 2007, the rate of deaths per 100,000 people declined by 43 percent for teenagers (from 29.4 to 16.6 per 100,000). In contrast, the death rate declined by 70 percent for people 12 and younger (from 7.9 to 2.4 per 100,000), 30 percent for people ages 20-69 (from 22.4 to 15.7 per 100,000), and 35 percent for people 70 and older (from 25.9 to 16.9 per 100,000).

Motor vehicle crash deaths per 100,000 people by age group, 1975-2007
	<13			13-19			20-69			≥ 70
	Population	Num	Rate	Population	Num	Rate	Population	Num	Rate	Population	Num	Rate
1975	45,851,304	3,643	7.9	29,795,023	8,748	29.4	125,762,927	28,154	22.4	14,563,945	3,775	25.9
1976	45,000,704	3,424	7.6	29,909,414	9,356	31.3	128,164,926	28,654	22.4	14,960,120	3,896	26.0
1977	44,337,332	3,347	7.5	29,800,313	9,633	32.3	130,700,531	30,747	23.5	15,401,249	3,859	25.1
1978	43,907,467	3,367	7.7	29,543,252	9,940	33.6	133,257,285	32,906	24.7	15,876,541	3,824	24.1
1979	43,778,959	3,171	7.2	29,077,607	9,920	34.1	135,810,304	33,907	25.0	16,388,617	3,772	23.0
1980	43,914,342	3,048	6.9	28,486,487	9,524	33.4	137,925,913	34,329	24.9	16,897,977	3,861	22.8
1981	44,049,940	2,733	6.2	27,743,947	8,315	30.0	140,349,007	33,837	24.1	17,322,714	3,871	22.3
1982	44,131,596	2,573	5.8	27,160,586	7,323	27.0	142,588,426	30,150	21.1	17,783,888	3,655	20.6
1983	44,119,297	2,518	5.7	26,737,497	6,805	25.5	144,701,358	29,341	20.3	18,233,751	3,734	20.5
1984	43,978,044	2,422	5.5	26,435,885	6,952	26.3	146,747,916	30,585	20.8	18,662,938	4,052	21.7
1985	44,260,136	2,469	5.6	26,001,247	6,737	25.9	148,589,564	30,157	20.3	19,072,785	4,206	22.1
1986	44,755,454	2,537	5.7	25,592,481	7,466	29.2	150,321,426	31,395	20.9	19,463,480	4,445	22.8
1987	45,348,247	2,654	5.9	25,209,615	7,293	28.9	151,840,344	31,750	20.9	19,890,817	4,555	22.9
1988	45,942,966	2,701	5.9	25,004,445	7,242	29.0	153,249,145	32,071	20.9	20,302,280	4,925	24.3
1989	46,690,604	2,658	5.7	24,664,300	6,688	27.1	154,744,818	31,163	20.1	20,719,397	4,943	23.9
1990	47,472,527	2,332	4.9	24,404,795	6,364	26.1	156,422,791	30,934	19.8	21,164,283	4,844	22.9
1991	48,240,747	2,257	4.7	24,066,587	5,760	23.9	158,093,861	28,536	18.1	21,751,897	4,843	22.3
1992	48,903,668	2,165	4.4	24,163,175	5,215	21.6	159,641,639	26,859	16.8	22,321,217	4,901	22.0
1993	49,335,864	2,164	4.4	24,664,091	5,421	22.0	160,981,980	27,204	16.9	22,800,673	5,221	22.9
1994	49,692,462	2,301	4.6	25,219,838	5,632	22.3	162,170,876	27,271	16.8	23,243,845	5,425	23.3
1995	49,920,484	2,201	4.4	25,764,300	5,675	22.0	163,424,735	28,348	17.3	23,693,757	5,509	23.3
1996	50,085,188	2,186	4.4	26,357,198	5,819	22.1	164,729,863	28,365	17.2	24,056,323	5,578	23.2
1997	50,364,983	2,108	4.2	26,730,812	5,730	21.4	166,278,995	28,194	17.0	24,408,817	5,872	24.1
1998	50,527,476	2,032	4.0	27,174,728	5,610	20.6	167,752,248	27,970	16.7	24,793,551	5,798	23.4
1999	50,667,139	1,997	3.9	27,518,156	5,752	20.9	169,412,713	28,224	16.7	25,092,805	5,657	22.5
2000	52,219,423	1,888	3.6	28,326,412	5,685	20.1	176,086,448	28,874	16.4	25,559,879	5,379	21.0
2001	52,341,395	1,751	3.3	28,437,711	5,594	19.7	178,525,502	29,309	16.4	25,797,467	5,425	21.0
2002	52,332,306	1,617	3.1	28,644,313	5,954	20.8	180,959,275	29,983	16.6	26,005,326	5,332	20.5
2003	52,187,602	1,643	3.1	29,028,500	5,718	19.7	183,371,928	30,070	16.4	26,200,946	5,363	20.5
2004	52,151,406	1,645	3.2	29,400,392	5,645	19.2	185,766,088	30,327	16.3	26,337,518	5,106	19.4
2005	52,149,395	1,529	2.9	29,589,854	5,300	17.9	188,012,486	31,514	16.8	26,658,669	5,047	18.9
2006	52,306,908	1,430	2.7	29,772,198	5,159	17.3	190,434,580	31,375	16.5	26,884,798	4,636	17.2
2007	52,585,809	1,264	2.4	29,775,943	4,946	16.6	192,123,888	30,123	15.7	27,135,517	4,598	16.9

The rate of deaths per 100,000 people in 2007 peaked at age 19 for male drivers (22.5 per 100,000) and at age 18 for male passengers (12.4 per 100,000). Death rates peaked at age 18 for female drivers (9.5 per 100,000) and at age 17 and 18 for female passengers (7.6 per 100,000).

Deaths in passenger vehicles per 100,000 people by seating position, age, and gender, 2007

Deaths in passenger vehicles per 100,000 people by seating position, age, and gender, 2007
Age	Male					Female					Total
	Population	Driver deaths		Passenger deaths		Population	Driver deaths		Passenger deaths		Population	Driver deaths *		Passenger deaths *
	Population	Num	Rate	Num	Rate	Population	Num	Rate	Num	Rate	Population	Num	Rate	Num	Rate
<13	26,897,714	4	0.0	448	1.7	25,688,095	0	0.0	446	1.7	52,585,809	4	0.0	894	1.7
13	2,104,123	1	0.0	54	2.6	2,004,839	2	0.1	45	2.2	4,108,962	3	0.1	99	2.4
14	2,149,525	11	0.5	78	3.6	2,043,766	4	0.2	73	3.6	4,193,291	15	0.4	151	3.6
15	2,182,145	37	1.7	108	4.9	2,082,738	14	0.7	109	5.2	4,264,883	51	1.2	217	5.1
16	2,219,866	183	8.2	168	7.6	2,114,399	111	5.2	153	7.2	4,334,265	294	6.8	321	7.4
17	2,264,262	315	13.9	220	9.7	2,150,261	163	7.6	164	7.6	4,414,523	478	10.8	384	8.7
18	2,183,797	471	21.6	271	12.4	2,074,160	197	9.5	158	7.6	4,257,957	668	15.7	429	10.1
19	2,156,799	485	22.5	215	10.0	2,045,263	174	8.5	151	7.4	4,202,062	659	15.7	366	8.7
20-24	10,852,937	2,395	22.1	847	7.8	10,179,459	729	7.2	430	4.2	21,032,396	3,124	14.9	1,277	6.1
25-29	10,776,189	1,600	14.8	438	4.1	10,281,517	534	5.2	249	2.4	21,057,706	2,134	10.1	687	3.3
30-59	61,967,230	6,128	9.9	1,117	1.8	62,838,298	2,539	4.0	1,003	1.6	124,805,528	8,667	6.9	2,120	1.7
60-69	11,946,929	1,124	9.4	135	1.1	13,281,329	537	4.0	295	2.2	25,228,258	1,661	6.6	430	1.7
≥ 70	10,957,382	1,746	15.9	312	2.8	16,178,135	857	5.3	702	4.3	27,135,517	2,603	9.6	1,014	3.7
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

The rate of fatal passenger vehicle crash involvements per 100 million miles traveled in 2001-02 was highest at ages 16-17 for male drivers and at age 16 for female drivers. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 2008. [Unpublished analysis of data from the US Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the National Household Travel Survey]. Arlington, VA.

Fatal passenger vehicle crash involvements per 100 million miles traveled by driver age and gender, April 2001-March 2002
Age	Males			Females			Total*
Age	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate
16	645	5,813,200,812	11.1	376	5,178,574,303	7.3	1,021	10,991,775,116	9.3
17	981	8,852,565,188	11.1	429	8,154,664,768	5.3	1,410	17,007,229,957	8.3
18	1,282	16,804,407,940	7.6	508	10,771,468,174	4.7	1,790	27,575,876,114	6.5
19	1,347	14,957,220,070	9.0	538	11,159,768,859	4.8	1,885	26,116,988,928	7.2
20-24	5,365	94,285,456,443	5.7	1,819	72,854,283,338	2.5	7,184	167,139,739,780	4.3
25-29	3,528	131,714,125,417	2.7	1,344	83,429,400,617	1.6	4,873	215,143,526,035	2.3
30-59	14,904	845,507,965,689	1.8	6,927	551,350,306,430	1.3	21,831	1396858272119	1.6
60-69	2,088	128,814,817,845	1.6	1,006	64,778,212,790	1.6	3,094	193,593,030,635	1.6
≥ 70	3,145	76,991,652,560	4.1	1,571	39,093,332,009	4.0	4,716	116,084,984,569	4.1
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

The rate of nighttime fatal passenger vehicle crash involvements per 100 million miles traveled in 2001-02 was almost 6 times higher for male drivers ages 16-19 than for male drivers ages 30-59. The corresponding comparison for females yields 3 times the rate. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 2008. [Unpublished analysis of data from the US Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the National Household Travel Survey]. Arlington, VA.

Nighttime (9pm-6am) fatal passenger vehicle crash involvements per 100 million miles traveled by driver age and gender, April 2001-March 2002
Age	Males			Females
Age	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate
16-19	1,753	6,868,242,230	25.5	558	5,288,492,858	10.6
20-29	4,387	34,863,762,486	12.6	1,021	16,250,031,866	6.3
30-59	4,659	100,198,843,583	4.6	1,499	42,841,189,821	3.5
60-69	334	8,575,497,349	3.9	97	3,894,479,517	2.5
≥ 70	243	3,451,274,299	7.0	73	1,370,058,296	5.3

When teenagers died

Fifty-five percent of motor vehicle crash deaths among teenagers in 2007 occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by day of week, 2007
Day of week	Deaths	%
Sunday	953	19
Monday	568	12
Tuesday	531	11
Wednesday	566	11
Thursday	571	12
Friday	795	16
Saturday	962	20
Total*	4,946	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Thirty-four percent of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths in 2007 occurred between 6 pm and midnight.

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by time of day, 2007
Time of day	Deaths	%
Midnight-3am	747	15
3am-6am	470	10
6am-9am	393	8
9am-noon	301	6
Noon-3pm	498	10
3pm-6pm	822	17
6pm-9pm	776	16
9pm-midnight	900	18
Total*	4,946	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Alcohol involvement

Young drivers are less likely than adults to drive after drinking alcohol, but their crash risk is substantially higher when they do. This is especially true at low and moderate blood alcohol concentrations (BACs). Peck, R.C.; Gebers, M.A.; Voas, R.B.; and Romano, E. 2008. The relationship between blood alcohol concentration (BAC), age, and crash risk. Journal of Safety Research 39:311-19. The estimated percentage of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers ages 16-17 who had BACs at or above 0.08 percent in 2007 was 18 percent, down 57 percent since 1982. Most of this decline took place in the 1980s. This age group experienced the greatest decline in alcohol involvement, compared with a 44 percent decline for drivers ages 18-20, a 18 percent decline for drivers ages 21-30, and a 31 percent decline for drivers older than 30.

Percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by age, 1982-2007

Estimated percent and number of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by age group, 1982-2007
Year	Ages 16-17			Ages 18-20			Ages 21-30			Ages >30
	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BAC ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BAC ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BAC ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BAC ≥ 0.08
	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%
1982	895	368	41	2,561	1,458	57	6,243	3,948	63	9,861	4,208	43
1983	899	345	38	2,427	1,336	55	6,053	3,859	64	9,844	3,943	40
1984	969	321	33	2,472	1,274	52	6,411	3,885	61	10,337	3,860	37
1985	935	250	27	2,292	1,009	44	6,262	3,659	58	10,441	3,713	36
1986	1,172	336	29	2,464	1,158	47	6,695	3,974	59	11,042	3,887	35
1987	1,192	311	26	2,438	1,004	41	6,802	3,975	58	11,579	4,016	35
1988	1,177	302	26	2,611	1,056	40	6,819	3,991	59	12,145	4,203	35
1989	1,060	234	22	2,476	991	40	6,475	3,675	57	12,401	4,272	34
1990	999	224	22	2,398	974	41	6,152	3,510	57	12,274	4,238	35
1991	902	193	21	2,119	852	40	5,623	3,183	57	11,801	3,993	34
1992	900	165	18	1,797	664	37	5,122	2,759	54	11,639	3,823	33
1993	935	152	16	1,870	643	34	5,065	2,658	52	12,038	3,851	32
1994	1,006	167	17	1,984	632	32	4,975	2,484	50	12,522	3,771	30
1995	1,015	150	15	1,968	575	29	5,081	2,585	51	13,246	4,155	31
1996	1,106	186	17	1,920	583	30	4,989	2,475	50	13,478	4,070	30
1997	1,090	180	17	1,944	593	31	4,772	2,272	48	13,773	4,001	29
1998	1,059	161	15	2,035	607	30	4,577	2,222	49	13,839	3,930	28
1999	1,092	172	16	2,169	677	31	4,653	2,260	49	13,870	3,866	28
2000	999	158	16	2,251	686	30	4,706	2,268	48	13,743	3,997	29
2001	993	132	13	2,254	691	31	4,735	2,358	50	13,790	4,005	29
2002	1,126	155	14	2,326	718	31	4,938	2,462	50	14,006	4,020	29
2003	994	159	16	2,266	699	31	4,852	2,308	48	13,957	3,930	28
2004	969	149	15	2,206	665	30	4,970	2,372	48	13,689	3,743	27
2005	879	132	15	2,106	603	29	5,067	2,492	49	13,809	3,852	28
2006	859	151	18	2,161	680	31	5,159	2,535	49	13,321	3,779	28
2007	772	137	18	1,939	615	32	5,002	2,577	52	12,576	3,686	29

Fatally injured female teenage drivers were less likely than male teenage drivers in 2007 to have high BACs. Among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers ages 16-17, 22 percent of males and 11 percent of females in 2007 had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. Among fatally injured drivers ages 18-19, 32 percent of males and 18 percent of females had BACs at or above 0.08 percent.

Estimated percent and number of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by gender and age, 2007
Age	Male			Female			Total*
	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BAC ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BAC ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers killed with BAC ≥ 0.08
	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%
16-17	498	108	22	274	29	11	772	137	18
18-19	956	308	32	371	67	18	1,327	375	28
20	444	202	46	168	38	23	612	240	39
21-30	3,812	2,170	57	1,189	407	34	5,002	2,577	52
31-60	6,001	2,678	45	2,515	615	24	8,516	3,293	39
61-70	1,088	211	19	509	36	7	1,597	247	15
>70	1,648	126	8	815	21	3	2,463	147	6
All ages*	14,512	5,824	40	5,865	1,217	21	20,381	7,042	35
*Total includes other and/or unknowns