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 [Unpublished analysis of April 1, 2016 - March 31, 2017 data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Household Travel Survey, General Estimates System, and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. Strengthening 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.

Posted May 2023.

Trends

A total of 3,058 teenagers ages 13-19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2021. This is 65 percent fewer than in 1975 and 11 percent more than in 2020. About 2 of every 3 teenagers killed in crashes in 2021 were males. Since 1975, teenage crash deaths have decreased more among males (69 percent) than among females (55 percent).

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by sex, 1975-2021

Motor vehicle crash deaths among 13-19 year-olds by sex, 1975-2021
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	1,887	68	873	32	2,767	100
2021	2,053	67	998	33	3,058	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In 2021, teenagers accounted for 7 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths. They accounted for 9 percent of passenger vehicle occupant deaths, 3 percent of pedestrian deaths, 4 percent of motorcyclist deaths, 6 percent of bicyclist deaths and 17 percent of all-terrain vehicle rider deaths.

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths as percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths, 2021
Death type	Teen crash deaths	Crash deaths for all ages	% Teen crash deaths of all crash deaths
Passenger vehicle occupant	2,376	26,585	9
Pedestrian	246	7,388	3
Motorcyclist	233	6,084	4
Bicyclist	58	961	6
All-terrain vehicle riders	49	293	17
Other	96	1,628	6
Total	3,058	42,939	7

Seventy-eight percent of teenage crash deaths in 2021 were passenger vehicle occupants. The others were pedestrians (8 percent), motorcyclists (8 percent), bicyclists (2 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 (55 percent) and highest for ages 17 and 18 (81 percent).

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by type and age, 2021
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	60	55	9	8	16	15	8	7	6	6	10	9	109	100
14	93	61	8	5	21	14	7	5	11	7	13	8	153	100
15	143	73	8	4	16	8	12	6	7	4	10	5	196	100
16	291	79	19	5	30	8	6	2	9	2	14	4	369	100
17	472	81	34	6	50	9	9	2	9	2	10	2	584	100
18	645	81	66	8	55	7	10	1	1	<1	15	2	792	100
19	672	79	89	10	58	7	6	1	6	1	24	3	855	100
Total	2,376	78	233	8	246	8	58	2	49	2	96	3	3,058	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 2021, 62 percent of deaths among passenger vehicle occupants ages 16-19 were drivers.

Teenage passenger vehicle occupant deaths by age and seating position, 2021
Age	Driver		Passenger		Total*
Age	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
13	2	3	56	93	60	100
14	8	9	83	89	93	100
15	34	24	108	76	143	100
16	128	44	162	56	291	100
17	279	59	191	40	472	100
18	424	66	219	34	645	100
19	451	67	220	33	672	100
Total	1,326	56	1,039	44	2,376	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In 2021, 57 percent of the deaths of teenage passengers in passenger vehicles occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager. Among deaths of passengers of all ages, 13 percent occurred when a teenager was driving.

Passenger vehicle passenger deaths by passenger age and driver age, 2021
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	34	5	91	13	165	23	397	56	14	2	7	1	5	1	713
13-19	592	57	185	18	47	5	188	18	11	1	2	<1	13	1	1,039
20-24	112	14	399	51	128	16	116	15	6	1	3	<1	16	2	780
25-29	21	4	129	23	190	33	217	38	6	1	3	1	4	1	570
30-59	62	3	156	9	195	11	1,182	66	131	7	44	2	20	1	1,790
60-69	4	1	10	2	12	3	170	39	149	35	81	19	5	1	431
70+	8	1	2	<1	19	2	199	22	160	18	520	57	3	<1	911
Unknown	7	15	6	12	11	23	16	33	1	2	2	4	5	10	48
All ages	840	13	978	16	767	12	2,485	40	478	8	662	11	71	1	6,282

In 2021, belt use among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers age 16 (45 percent), 17 (47 percent), 18 (42 percent) and 19 (44 percent) was higher than among fatally injured drivers ages 20-59 (39 percent), but lower than that among drivers 60 and older combined (60 percent). Among fatally injured 16-19 year-old occupants, belt use among passengers (32 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, 2021
Age	Drivers						Passengers
	Belt used		Unbelted		Unknown		Belt used		Unbelted		Unknown
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
13	0	0	2	100	0	0	30	54	24	43	2	4
14	1	12	7	88	0	0	25	30	46	55	12	14
15	14	41	17	50	3	9	30	28	58	54	20	19
16	58	45	56	44	14	11	52	32	83	51	27	17
17	131	47	120	43	28	10	68	36	99	52	24	13
18	178	42	205	48	41	10	72	33	115	53	32	15
19	197	44	202	45	52	12	65	30	123	56	32	15
20-24	903	39	1,127	49	264	12	245	31	428	55	107	14
25-29	771	35	1,188	54	260	12	168	29	317	56	85	15
30-59	3,723	40	4,522	49	960	10	688	38	897	50	205	11
60-69	1,256	54	883	38	192	8	264	61	134	31	33	8
70+	1,831	64	840	29	182	6	678	74	175	19	58	6

Among passenger vehicle drivers ages 16-19 involved in fatal crashes in 2021, 40 percent were involved in single-vehicle crashes. This was higher than for drivers ages 20 and older (35 percent).

Passenger vehicle drivers in fatal crashes by age and crash type, 2021
	Single vehicle		Multiple vehicle		All crashes
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
16-19	1,368	40	2,056	60	3,424	100
20-24	2,342	40	3,586	60	5,928	100
25-29	2,097	38	3,462	62	5,559	100
30-59	7,846	35	14,716	65	22,562	100
60-69	1,596	33	3,259	67	4,855	100
70+	1,358	29	3,373	71	4,731	100

Population and mileage rates

From 1975 to 2021, the rate of passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes per 100,000 people declined by 58 percent for teenagers ages 16-19 (from 47.6 to 19.9), 36 percent for people ages 20-34 (from 38.7 to 24.8), 25 percent for people ages 35-69 (from 20.5 to 15.3), and 18 percent for people 70 and older (from 15.4 to 12.6). The teenage passenger vehicle driver fatal crash involvement rate rose in 2020 for the first time since 2016, and was 11 percent higher than the rate in 2019. It rose 11 percent again from 2020 to 2021.

Passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes per 100,000 people by age group, 1975-2021
	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	3,022	18.0	67,664,401	14,991	22.2	142,779,669	19,691	13.8	37,785,698	4,090	10.8
2021	17,208,740	3,424	19.9	67,019,102	16,638	24.8	145,289,674	22,266	15.3	37,453,633	4,731	12.6

The rate of deaths per 100,000 people in 2021 peaked at age 19 for male drivers (15.5) and for male passengers (6.0). Death rates peaked at age 20-24 for female drivers (6.1) and at age 18 for female passengers (4.5).

Deaths in passenger vehicles per 100,000 people by seating position, age and sex, 2021

Deaths in passenger vehicles per 100,000 people by seating position, age and sex, 2021
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	26,442,279	0	0.0	375	1.4	25,248,817	1	0.0	336	1.3	51,691,096	1	0.0	711	1.4
13	2,275,444	1	0.0	29	1.3	2,167,137	1	0.0	27	1.2	4,442,581	2	0.0	56	1.3
14	2,271,010	7	0.3	40	1.8	2,161,983	1	0.0	43	2.0	4,432,993	8	0.2	83	1.9
15	2,228,527	26	1.2	53	2.4	2,127,399	8	0.4	54	2.5	4,355,926	34	0.8	107	2.5
16	2,204,485	87	3.9	82	3.7	2,105,977	41	1.9	80	3.8	4,310,462	128	3.0	162	3.8
17	2,214,872	195	8.8	109	4.9	2,118,503	84	4.0	81	3.8	4,333,375	279	6.4	190	4.4
18	2,193,245	298	13.6	125	5.7	2,099,535	125	6.0	94	4.5	4,292,780	423	9.9	219	5.1
19	2,181,847	338	15.5	130	6.0	2,090,276	112	5.4	90	4.3	4,272,123	450	10.5	220	5.1
20-24	10,973,238	1,651	15.0	437	4.0	10,550,759	641	6.1	341	3.2	21,523,997	2,292	10.6	778	3.6
25-29	11,379,058	1,631	14.3	312	2.7	11,013,419	587	5.3	257	2.3	22,392,477	2,218	9.9	569	2.5
30-59	64,473,935	6,614	10.3	886	1.4	64,288,297	2,580	4.0	901	1.4	128,762,232	9,194	7.1	1,787	1.4
60-69	19,081,472	1,704	8.9	147	0.8	20,548,598	625	3.0	284	1.4	39,630,070	2,329	5.9	431	1.1
70+	16,465,330	1,929	11.7	254	1.5	20,988,303	921	4.4	655	3.1	37,453,633	2,850	7.6	909	2.4

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 2021, teenage crash deaths occurred most often in late spring and early summer (May and June).

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by month, 2021
Month	Deaths	%
January	212	7
February	206	7
March	234	8
April	229	7
May	302	10
June	313	10
July	272	9
August	282	9
September	262	9
October	277	9
November	241	8
December	228	7
Total	3,058	100

Fifty-one percent of motor vehicle crash deaths among teenagers in 2021 occurred on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by day of week, 2021
Day of week	Deaths	%
Sunday	520	17
Monday	405	13
Tuesday	355	12
Wednesday	321	11
Thursday	404	13
Friday	490	16
Saturday	563	18
Total	3,058	100

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths in 2021 occurred most frequently from 9 p.m. to midnight (19 percent), followed closely by the time between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. (17 percent).

Teenage motor vehicle crash deaths by time of day, 2021
Time of day	Deaths	%
Midnight - 3 a.m.	437	14
3 a.m. - 6 a.m.	269	9
6 a.m. - 9 a.m.	273	9
9 a.m. - noon	196	6
Noon - 3 p.m.	346	11
3 p.m. - 6 p.m.	403	13
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.	531	17
9 p.m. - midnight	588	19
Total*	3,058	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 2021 was 19 percent, down 54 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 (55 percent). These age groups experienced a larger decline in alcohol involvement than drivers ages 21-30 (33 percent) and drivers over age 30 (37 percent).

Percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by age, 1982-2021

Estimated percent and number of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by age group, 1982-2021
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	360	60	17	1,219	330	27	4,258	1,747	41	12,407	3,384	27
2021	407	77	19	1,303	336	26	4,496	1,903	42	13,978	3,782	27

Among fatally injured teenage drivers in 2021, females were less likely than males to have high BACs. Among fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers ages 16-17, 22 percent of males and 12 percent of females had BACs at or above 0.08 percent. Among fatally injured drivers ages 18-19, 23 percent of males and 19 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, 2021
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	282	62	22	125	15	12	407	77	19
18-19	636	149	23	237	44	19	875	194	22
20	302	107	35	125	35	28	428	142	33
21-30	3,274	1,456	44	1,219	444	36	4,496	1,903	42
31-60	6,522	2,438	37	2,528	659	26	9,060	3,101	34
61-70	1,617	347	21	610	76	12	2,229	423	19
>70	1,814	204	11	872	53	6	2,689	258	10
All ages*	14,498	4,773	33	5,735	1,329	23	20,261	6,115	30
*Total includes other and/or unknowns