Teenagers

Overview

In the United States, teenagers drive less than all but the oldest people, but their numbers of crashes and crash deaths are disproportionately high. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. (2020). [Unpublished analysis of April 1, 2016 - March 31, 2017 data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Household Travel Survey, General Estimates System, and Fatality Analysis Reporting System]. The fatal crash rate per mile driven for 16-19 year-olds is nearly 3 times the rate for drivers ages 20 and over. Risk is highest at ages 16-17.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, all states adopted graduated licensing systems, which phase in full driving privileges. National studies of graduated licensing found that strong laws were associated with substantially lower fatal crash rates and substantially lower insurance claim rates among young teen drivers covered by the laws. Strong restrictions on nighttime driving and teen passengers, as well as raising the licensing age, reduced rates of fatal crashes and insurance collision claims. McCartt, A. T., Teoh, E. R., Fields, M., Braitman, K. A., & Hellinga, L. A. (2010). Graduated licensing laws and fatal crashes of teenage drivers: A national study. Traffic Injury Prevention, 11, 240-248.Trempel, R. E. (2009). Graduated driver licensing laws and insurance collision claim frequencies of teenage drivers. Highway Loss Data Institute.

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

Posted May 2022.

Trends

A total of 2,738 teenagers ages 13-19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2020. This is 69 percent fewer than in 1975 and 14 percent more than in 2019. The increase from 2019 to 2020 was larger among males than females. About 2 of every 3 teenagers killed in crashes in 2020 were males. Since 1975, teenage crash deaths have decreased more among males (71 percent) than among females (61 percent).

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by sex, 1975-2020

Motor vehicle crash deaths among 13-19 year-olds by sex, 1975-2020
Year	Male		Female		Total*
Year	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
1975	6,532	75	2,215	25	8,748	100
1976	6,826	73	2,530	27	9,356	100
1977	6,983	72	2,650	28	9,633	100
1978	7,295	73	2,645	27	9,940	100
1979	7,280	73	2,639	27	9,920	100
1980	6,932	73	2,591	27	9,524	100
1981	6,014	72	2,301	28	8,315	100
1982	5,354	73	1,969	27	7,323	100
1983	4,850	71	1,955	29	6,805	100
1984	4,947	71	2,005	29	6,952	100
1985	4,715	70	2,022	30	6,737	100
1986	5,280	71	2,182	29	7,466	100
1987	5,107	70	2,186	30	7,293	100
1988	5,036	70	2,204	30	7,242	100
1989	4,528	68	2,158	32	6,688	100
1990	4,420	69	1,944	31	6,364	100
1991	3,891	68	1,867	32	5,760	100
1992	3,495	67	1,713	33	5,215	100
1993	3,678	68	1,742	32	5,421	100
1994	3,770	67	1,859	33	5,632	100
1995	3,702	65	1,970	35	5,675	100
1996	3,855	66	1,963	34	5,819	100
1997	3,715	65	2,014	35	5,730	100
1998	3,649	65	1,960	35	5,610	100
1999	3,745	65	2,007	35	5,752	100
2000	3,759	66	1,925	34	5,685	100
2001	3,735	67	1,859	33	5,594	100
2002	3,939	66	2,015	34	5,954	100
2003	3,772	66	1,946	34	5,718	100
2004	3,696	65	1,948	35	5,645	100
2005	3,496	66	1,803	34	5,300	100
2006	3,415	66	1,744	34	5,159	100
2007	3,280	66	1,701	34	4,981	100
2008	2,694	66	1,373	34	4,070	100
2009	2,222	64	1,257	36	3,480	100
2010	2,034	65	1,087	35	3,121	100
2011	1,991	66	1,041	34	3,033	100
2012	1,863	66	972	34	2,837	100
2013	1,661	65	880	35	2,543	100
2014	1,802	69	828	31	2,630	100
2015	1,811	66	935	34	2,747	100
2016	1,867	66	969	34	2,837	100
2017	1,829	66	933	34	2,762	100
2018	1,580	63	914	37	2,496	100
2019	1,589	66	804	34	2,394	100
2020	1,866	68	864	32	2,738	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In 2020, teenagers accounted for 7 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths. They comprised 9 percent of passenger vehicle (cars, pickups, SUVs, and vans) occupant deaths among all ages, 4 percent of pedestrian deaths, 3 percent of motorcyclist deaths, 8 percent of bicyclist deaths and 14 percent of all-terrain vehicle rider deaths.

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths as percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths, 2020
Death type	Teen crash deaths	Crash deaths for all ages	% Teen crash deaths of all crash deaths
Passenger vehicle occupant	2,159	24,019	9
Pedestrian	229	6,516	4
Motorcyclist	152	5,579	3
Bicyclist	71	932	8
All-terrain vehicle riders	49	339	14
Other	78	1,439	5
Total	2,738	38,824	7

Seventy-nine percent of teenage crash deaths in 2020 were passenger vehicle occupants. The others were pedestrians (8 percent), motorcyclists (6 percent), bicyclists (3 percent), riders of all-terrain vehicles (2 percent) and people in other kinds of vehicles (3 percent). The percentage of crash deaths that were passenger vehicle occupants is lowest for age 13 (54 percent) and highest for age 17 (84 percent).

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by type and age, 2020
Age	Passenger vehicle occupants		Motorcyclists		Pedestrians		Bicyclists		All-terrain vehicle riders		Other		Total motor vehicle deaths
Age	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
13	57	54	5	5	15	14	11	10	7	7	10	10	105	100
14	93	65	7	5	18	13	10	7	8	6	7	5	143	100
15	133	66	10	5	14	7	14	7	10	5	19	10	200	100
16	297	79	15	4	32	9	14	4	9	2	8	2	375	100
17	412	84	23	5	32	7	11	2	5	1	8	2	491	100
18	567	82	37	5	60	9	8	1	6	1	10	1	688	100
19	600	82	55	7	58	8	3	<1	4	1	16	2	736	100
Total	2,159	79	152	6	229	8	71	3	49	2	78	3	2,738	100

In 2020, motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death among 13-19 year-old females and one of the leading causes of death among 13-19 year-old males.National Centers for Injury Prevention and Control. (2022). Leading causes of death reports, national and regional, 1999-2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcause.html

Leading causes of death among U.S. teenagers by sex, 2020
Cause of death	Male	Female	Total
Motor vehicle crashes	1,866	864	2,730
Homicide	2,358	368	2,726
Suicide	1,966	671	2,637

Passenger vehicle occupants

In 2020, 60 percent of deaths among passenger vehicle occupants ages 16-19 were drivers.

Teenage passenger vehicle occupant deaths by age and seating position, 2020
Age	Driver		Passenger		Total*
Age	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
13	5	9	52	91	57	100
14	9	10	84	90	93	100
15	24	18	109	82	133	100
16	125	42	171	58	297	100
17	234	57	178	43	412	100
18	367	65	200	35	567	100
19	406	68	193	32	600	100
Total	1,170	54	987	46	2,159	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In 2020, 56 percent of the deaths of teenage passengers in passenger vehicles occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager. Among deaths of passengers of all ages, 15 percent occurred when a teenager was driving.

Passenger vehicle passenger deaths by passenger age and driver age, 2020
Passenger age	Driver Age														All ages
	13-19 years		20-24 years		25-29 years		30-59 years		60-69 years		≥70 years		Unknown		All ages
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number
<13	44	7	70	12	124	21	333	55	21	3	5	1	5	1	602
13-19	553	56	206	21	54	5	149	15	12	1	5	1	8	1	987
20-24	121	15	432	53	138	17	113	14	6	1	2	<1	9	1	821
25-29	23	4	111	20	222	40	181	33	7	1	3	1	7	1	554
30-59	74	4	133	8	228	14	1,046	63	113	7	52	3	21	1	1,667
60-69	12	3	11	3	25	7	128	35	136	37	53	14	2	1	367
70+	3	<1	10	1	10	1	157	23	117	17	383	56	1	<1	682
Unknown	3	10	9	29	4	13	11	35	1	3	2	6	1	3	31
All ages	833	15	982	17	805	14	2,118	37	413	7	505	9	54	1	5,711

In 2020, belt use among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers age 16 (52 percent), 17 (41 percent), 18 (42 percent) and 19 (46 percent) was higher than among fatally injured drivers ages 20-59 (39 percent), but lower than that among drivers 60 and older combined (59 percent). Among fatally injured 16-19 year-old occupants, belt use among passengers (30 percent) was considerably lower than among drivers (44 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, 2020
Age	Drivers						Passengers
	Belt used		Unbelted		Unknown		Belt used		Unbelted		Unknown
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
13	0	0	3	60	2	40	25	48	18	35	9	17
14	2	22	7	78	0	0	30	36	47	56	7	8
15	10	42	12	50	2	8	37	34	55	50	17	16
16	65	52	48	38	12	10	58	34	98	57	15	9
17	96	41	116	50	22	9	56	31	94	53	28	16
18	153	42	175	48	39	11	49	24	120	60	31	16
19	186	46	183	45	37	9	59	31	102	53	32	17
20-24	799	37	1,082	51	259	12	243	30	463	56	115	14
25-29	737	35	1,109	53	258	12	194	35	284	51	76	14
30-59	3,274	40	4,024	50	824	10	638	38	824	49	205	12
60-69	1,130	53	830	39	171	8	211	57	125	34	31	8
70+	1,620	63	762	30	176	7	505	74	147	22	30	4

Among passenger vehicle drivers ages 16-19 involved in fatal crashes in 2020, 44 percent were involved in single-vehicle crashes. This was higher than for drivers ages 20 and older (37 percent).

Passenger vehicle drivers in fatal crashes by age and crash type, 2020
	Single vehicle		Multiple vehicle		All crashes
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
16-19	1,305	44	1,692	56	2,997	100
20-24	2,174	41	3,093	59	5,267	100
25-29	2,078	40	3,182	60	5,260	100
30-59	7,222	37	12,398	63	19,620	100
60-69	1,507	35	2,815	65	4,322	100
70+	1,236	30	2,837	70	4,073	100

Population and mileage rates

From 1975 to 2020, the rate of passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes per 100,000 people declined by 62 percent for teenagers ages 16-19 (from 47.6 to 17.9), 43 percent for people ages 20-34 (from 38.7 to 22.0), 33 percent for people ages 35-69 (from 20.5 to 13.7), and 30 percent for people 70 and older (from 15.4 to 10.8). The teenage passenger vehicle driver fatal crash involvement rate rose in 2020 for the first time since 2016, and was 10% higher than the rate in 2019.

Passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes per 100,000 people by age group, 1975-2020
	16-19 years			20-34 years			35-69 years			70+ years
	Population	Number	Rate	Population	Number	Rate	Population	Number	Rate	Population	Number	Rate
1975	17,016,355	8,094	47.6	50,998,098	19,715	38.7	74,764,829	15,325	20.5	14,563,945	2,249	15.4
1976	17,194,079	8,457	49.2	52,745,005	19,847	37.6	75,419,921	15,127	20.1	14,960,120	2,395	16.0
1977	17,276,153	8,968	51.9	54,497,448	21,530	39.5	76,203,083	15,710	20.6	15,401,249	2,387	15.5
1978	17,287,835	9,297	53.8	55,909,063	23,284	41.6	77,348,222	16,323	21.1	15,876,541	2,524	15.9
1979	17,242,116	9,240	53.6	57,499,197	23,991	41.7	78,311,107	16,075	20.5	16,388,617	2,386	14.6
1980	17,112,117	8,637	50.5	58,814,391	23,957	40.7	79,111,522	16,002	20.2	16,897,977	2,375	14.1
1981	16,756,984	7,800	46.5	60,563,416	23,758	39.2	79,785,591	16,131	20.2	17,322,714	2,487	14.4
1982	16,280,287	6,509	40.0	61,099,524	20,848	34.1	81,488,902	14,491	17.8	17,783,888	2,522	14.2
1983	15,783,684	6,253	39.6	61,840,154	19,955	32.3	82,861,204	14,459	17.4	18,233,751	2,574	14.1
1984	15,257,750	6,464	42.4	62,491,255	20,964	33.5	84,256,661	15,079	17.9	18,662,938	2,770	14.8
1985	14,969,843	6,276	41.9	62,961,154	20,837	33.1	85,628,410	15,265	17.8	19,072,785	3,005	15.8
1986	14,981,380	7,017	46.8	63,115,889	22,008	34.9	87,205,537	15,736	18.0	19,463,480	3,235	16.6
1987	15,172,917	7,021	46.3	63,032,298	22,387	35.5	88,808,046	16,749	18.9	19,890,817	3,376	17.0
1988	15,159,185	7,249	47.8	62,784,739	22,367	35.6	90,464,406	17,501	19.3	20,302,280	3,623	17.8
1989	14,874,579	6,906	46.4	62,494,056	21,273	34.0	92,250,762	17,780	19.3	20,719,397	3,631	17.5
1990	14,424,509	6,356	44.1	62,282,683	20,715	33.3	94,140,108	17,579	18.7	21,164,283	3,688	17.4
1991	13,935,348	5,718	41.0	62,025,750	19,073	30.8	96,068,111	16,366	17.0	21,751,897	3,769	17.3
1992	13,720,071	5,231	38.1	61,427,100	17,846	29.1	98,214,539	16,377	16.7	22,321,217	3,834	17.2
1993	13,874,164	5,434	39.2	60,582,332	17,691	29.2	100,399,648	17,024	17.0	22,800,673	4,146	18.2
1994	14,128,177	5,773	40.9	59,629,351	17,672	29.6	102,541,525	17,514	17.1	23,243,845	4,325	18.6
1995	14,401,118	5,874	40.8	58,712,407	17,911	30.5	104,712,328	18,869	18.0	23,693,757	4,505	19.0
1996	14,907,191	6,021	40.4	57,753,910	17,738	30.7	106,975,953	19,266	18.0	24,056,323	4,563	19.0
1997	15,257,453	5,947	39.0	57,046,569	16,847	29.5	109,232,426	19,708	18.0	24,408,817	4,823	19.8
1998	15,649,272	5,938	37.9	56,421,053	16,271	28.8	111,331,195	20,031	18.0	24,793,551	4,808	19.4
1999	15,927,464	6,158	38.7	55,961,401	16,154	28.9	113,451,312	19,585	17.3	25,092,805	4,806	19.2
2000	16,192,473	6,041	37.3	58,971,709	16,444	27.9	117,114,739	19,966	17.0	25,559,879	4,574	17.9
2001	16,232,934	5,983	36.9	59,465,066	16,284	27.4	119,060,436	20,287	17.0	25,797,467	4,649	18.0
2002	16,287,999	6,134	37.7	60,046,068	16,686	27.8	120,913,207	20,358	16.8	26,005,326	4,543	17.5
2003	16,344,596	5,745	35.1	60,599,350	16,329	26.9	122,772,578	20,799	16.9	26,200,946	4,644	17.7
2004	16,518,068	5,724	34.7	61,003,240	16,401	26.9	124,762,848	20,509	16.4	26,337,518	4,355	16.5
2005	16,652,533	5,360	32.2	61,180,772	16,516	27.0	126,831,714	21,004	16.6	26,658,669	4,237	15.9
2006	16,996,219	5,270	31.0	61,527,219	16,237	26.4	128,907,361	20,152	15.6	26,884,798	4,064	15.1
2007	17,208,807	4,970	28.9	61,623,322	15,624	25.4	130,500,566	19,696	15.1	27,135,517	4,004	14.8
2008	17,314,417	4,046	23.4	61,990,546	13,696	22.1	131,908,058	17,868	13.5	27,521,034	3,739	13.6
2009	17,404,102	3,620	20.8	63,105,881	12,338	19.6	132,693,708	16,671	12.6	27,786,270	3,565	12.8
2010	17,750,955	3,234	18.2	62,914,600	12,066	19.2	135,270,594	16,204	12.0	27,957,657	3,630	13.0
2011	17,503,125	2,977	17.0	63,965,818	11,960	18.7	136,306,915	15,828	11.6	28,472,279	3,552	12.5
2012	17,230,188	2,917	16.9	64,900,433	12,493	19.2	137,323,658	16,528	12.0	29,152,093	3,651	12.5
2013	17,034,699	2,584	15.2	65,681,251	12,178	18.5	138,067,096	16,405	11.9	30,040,362	3,656	12.2
2014	16,896,162	2,622	15.5	66,367,803	12,205	18.4	139,015,319	16,251	11.7	30,864,009	3,720	12.1
2015	16,840,766	2,924	17.4	66,762,737	13,444	20.1	140,231,069	18,043	12.9	31,624,778	3,944	12.5
2016	16,939,001	3,040	17.9	67,142,780	14,622	21.8	141,361,052	19,024	13.5	32,406,486	4,302	13.3
2017	16,992,577	2,966	17.5	67,381,469	14,399	21.4	141,662,252	19,485	13.8	33,964,043	4,528	13.3
2018	16,936,745	2,844	16.8	67,504,170	13,991	20.7	142,087,330	19,296	13.6	35,290,306	4,550	12.9
2019	16,888,181	2,733	16.2	67,647,658	13,437	19.9	142,410,359	19,164	13.5	36,592,368	4,621	12.6
2020	16,785,009	2,997	17.9	67,664,401	14,892	22.0	142,779,669	19,577	13.7	37,785,698	4,073	10.8

The rate of deaths per 100,000 people in 2020 peaked at ages 20-24 for male drivers (14.3) and at age 18 for male passengers (5.1). Death rates peaked at age 19-24 for female drivers (5.3) and at age 18 for female passengers (4.5).

Deaths in passenger vehicles per 100,000 people by seating position, age and sex, 2020

Deaths in passenger vehicles per 100,000 people by seating position, age and sex, 2020
Age	Male					Female					Total
	Population	Driver deaths		Passenger deaths		Population	Driver deaths		Passenger deaths		Population	Driver deaths		Passenger deaths
	Population	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Population	Number	Rate	Number	Rate	Population	Number	Rate	Number	Rate
<13	26,508,833	2	0.0	324	1.2	25,378,314	1	0.0	276	1.1	51,887,147	3	0.0	600	1.2
13	2,155,552	5	0.2	26	1.2	2,064,369	0	0.0	26	1.3	4,219,921	5	0.1	52	1.2
14	2,138,493	8	0.4	49	2.3	2,047,865	1	0.0	35	1.7	4,186,358	9	0.2	84	2.0
15	2,131,384	12	0.6	66	3.1	2,044,536	12	0.6	42	2.1	4,175,920	24	0.6	108	2.6
16	2,136,152	99	4.6	94	4.4	2,051,722	26	1.3	76	3.7	4,187,874	125	3.0	170	4.1
17	2,123,989	180	8.5	94	4.4	2,040,904	54	2.6	83	4.1	4,164,893	234	5.6	177	4.2
18	2,122,009	283	13.3	108	5.1	2,037,848	84	4.1	92	4.5	4,159,857	367	8.8	200	4.8
19	2,181,063	296	13.6	109	5.0	2,091,322	110	5.3	83	4.0	4,272,385	406	9.5	192	4.5
20-24	11,032,846	1,579	14.3	452	4.1	10,561,909	561	5.3	368	3.5	21,594,755	2,140	9.9	820	3.8
25-29	11,875,126	1,515	12.8	326	2.7	11,356,117	587	5.2	228	2.0	23,231,243	2,102	9.0	554	2.4
30-59	63,051,741	5,847	9.3	827	1.3	63,892,086	2,268	3.5	839	1.3	126,943,827	8,115	6.4	1,666	1.3
60-69	18,367,857	1,535	8.4	155	0.8	20,306,388	595	2.9	212	1.0	38,674,245	2,130	5.5	367	0.9
70+	16,431,157	1,766	10.7	202	1.2	21,354,541	788	3.7	479	2.2	37,785,698	2,554	6.8	681	1.8

The rate of fatal passenger vehicle crash involvements per 100 million miles traveled in 2016-17 was highest at ages 16-19 for male drivers and at ages 80 and over for female drivers.Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. (2020). [Unpublished analysis of April 1, 2016 - March 31, 2017 data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Household Travel Survey, General Estimates System, and Fatality Analysis Reporting System].

Fatal passenger vehicle crash involvements per 100 million miles traveled by driver age and sex, April 1, 2016 – March 31, 2017
Age	Male			Female			Total*
Age	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate
16-19	2,019	31,732,691,896	6.4	1,003	30,677,731,652	3.3	3,024	62,410,423,548	4.8
20-24	3,898	89,913,330,623	4.3	1,713	82,245,489,504	2.1	5,618	172,158,820,127	3.3
25-29	3,429	97,584,235,223	3.5	1,533	115,903,021,775	1.3	4,964	213,487,256,997	2.3
30-59	12,875	785,270,175,131	1.6	6,011	558,224,868,022	1.1	18,889	1,343,495,043,154	1.4
60-69	3,019	207,918,951,320	1.5	1,380	136,711,746,704	1.0	4,401	344,630,698,024	1.3
70-79	1,754	85,010,352,002	2.1	807	54,430,675,479	1.5	2,563	139,441,027,481	1.8
80+	1,169	19,674,241,353	5.9	568	12,308,938,944	4.6	1,737	31,983,180,297	5.4
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

The rate of nighttime fatal passenger vehicle crash involvements per 100 million miles traveled in 2016-17 for male drivers ages 16-19 was almost 3 times that of male drivers ages 30-59. The corresponding comparison for females yields just over double the rate. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. (2020). [Unpublished analysis of April 1, 2016 - March 31, 2017 data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Household Travel Survey, General Estimates System, and Fatality Analysis Reporting System].

Nighttime (9 p.m.-6 a.m.) fatal passenger vehicle crash involvements per 100 million miles traveled by driver age and sex, April 1, 2016 – March 31, 2017
Age	Male			Female
Age	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate	Crash involvements	Miles	Rate
16-19	788	4,931,226,605	16.0	300	2,916,766,045	10.3
20-24	1,788	12,749,476,470	14.0	662	11,332,793,419	5.8
25-29	1,565	12,346,988,856	12.7	555	6,306,786,823	8.8
30-59	4,372	79,775,321,852	5.5	1,480	35,496,839,100	4.2
60-69	592	15,786,500,196	3.8	196	7,501,060,309	2.6
70+	294	4,365,410,112	6.7	99	1,972,194,094	5.0

When teenagers died

In 2020, teenage crash deaths occurred most often in summer months (June, July and August).

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by month, 2020
Month	Deaths	%
January	198	7
February	172	6
March	166	6
April	176	6
May	231	8
June	282	10
July	276	10
August	285	10
September	253	9
October	241	9
November	246	9
December	212	8
Total	2,738	100

Fifty percent of motor vehicle crash deaths among teenagers in 2020 occurred on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by day of week, 2020
Day of week	Deaths	%
Sunday	499	18
Monday	354	13
Tuesday	326	12
Wednesday	344	13
Thursday	342	13
Friday	390	14
Saturday	483	18
Total	2,738	100

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths in 2020 occurred most frequently from 9 p.m. to midnight (19 percent), followed closely by the time between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., and between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. (both 16 percent).

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by time of day, 2020
Time of day	Deaths	%
Midnight - 3 a.m.	419	15
3 a.m. - 6 a.m.	259	10
6 a.m. - 9 a.m.	207	8
9 a.m. - noon	163	6
Noon - 3 p.m.	277	10
3 p.m. - 6 p.m.	430	16
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.	445	16
9 p.m. - midnight	524	19
Total*	2,738	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). Voas, R. B., Torres, P., Romano, E., & Lacey, J. H. (2012). Alcohol-related risk of driver fatalities: An update using 2007 data. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 73(3), 341-350. The estimated percentage of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers ages 16-17 who had BACs at or above 0.08 percent in 2020 was 18 percent, down 56 percent since 1982. Most of this decline took place in the 1980s. This age group experienced a similar decline in alcohol involvement as drivers ages 18-20 (51 percent). These age groups experienced a larger decline in alcohol involvement than drivers ages 21-30 (35 percent) and drivers over age 30 (36 percent).

Percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by age, 1982-2020

Estimated percent and number of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by age group, 1982-2020
Year	16-17 years			18-20 years			21-30 years			>30 years
	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08
	Number	Number	%	Number	Number	%	Number	Number	%	Number	Number	%
1982	895	368	41	2,561	1,458	57	6,244	3,948	63	9,861	4,208	43
1983	899	345	38	2,427	1,336	55	6,053	3,859	64	9,845	3,943	40
1984	969	321	33	2,472	1,274	52	6,413	3,885	61	10,337	3,860	37
1985	935	250	27	2,292	1,009	44	6,263	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	12,525	3,771	30
1995	1,015	150	15	1,968	575	29	5,081	2,585	51	13,247	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	1,946	594	31	4,775	2,275	48	13,777	4,004	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	775	133	17	1,953	633	32	5,028	2,592	52	12,697	3,675	29
2008	580	91	16	1,712	535	31	4,388	2,327	53	11,528	3,308	29
2009	503	69	14	1,546	540	35	3,870	2,020	52	10,869	3,156	29
2010	410	58	14	1,265	380	30	3,697	1,816	49	10,613	2,914	27
2011	422	78	18	1,300	410	32	3,612	1,747	48	10,193	2,820	28
2012	390	60	15	1,234	376	30	3,748	1,803	48	10,505	2,958	28
2013	302	31	10	1,079	328	30	3,671	1,788	49	10,492	2,958	28
2014	344	50	15	1,090	294	27	3,636	1,707	47	10,384	2,849	27
2015	381	53	14	1,210	295	24	3,860	1,658	43	11,134	2,901	26
2016	406	47	12	1,185	284	24	4,205	1,812	43	11,801	2,997	25
2017	375	48	13	1,108	274	25	4,057	1,721	42	12,168	3,066	25
2018	355	53	15	1,084	236	22	3,962	1,674	42	11,827	2,988	25
2019	295	50	17	1,039	236	23	3,639	1,552	43	11,869	2,946	25
2020	359	65	18	1,203	335	28	4,241	1,745	41	12,384	3,387	27

Among fatally injured teenage drivers in 2020, females were less likely than males to have high BACs. Among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers ages 16-17, 20 percent of males and 12 percent of females had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. Among fatally injured drivers ages 18-19, 28 percent of males and 21 percent of females had BACs at or above 0.08 percent.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by sex and age, 2020
Age	Male			Female			Total*
	Drivers killed	Estimated drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08		Drivers killed	Estimated drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08
	Number	Number	%	Number	Number	%	Number	Number	%
16-17	279	56	20	80	9	12	359	65	18
18-19	579	162	28	194	41	21	773	202	26
20	316	106	33	114	27	24	430	133	31
21-30	3,094	1,338	43	1,145	406	35	4,241	1,745	41
31-60	5,741	2,172	38	2,229	579	26	7,978	2,755	35
61-70	1,440	330	23	578	80	14	2,019	411	20
>70	1,651	174	11	733	46	6	2,387	221	9
All ages*	13,153	4,351	33	5,091	1,192	23	18,261	5,550	30
*Total includes other and/or unknowns