Question: Why do teen drivers have 'greater risk exposure'?
Answer: Teens often drive at night with other teens in the vehicle, factors that increase crash risk. Teen drivers are different from other drivers, and their crash experience is different. Compared to other drivers, a higher proportion of teenagers are responsible for their fatal crashes because of their own driving errors:
- A larger percentage of fatal crashes involving teenage drivers are single-vehicle crashes compared to those involving other drivers. In this type of fatal crash, the vehicle usually leaves the road and overturns or hits a roadside object such as a tree or a pole.
- In general, a smaller percentage of teens wear their seat belts compared to other drivers.
- A larger proportion of teen fatal crashes involve speeding, or going too fast for road conditions, compared to other drivers.
- More teen fatal crashes occur when passengersusually other teenagers are in the car than do crashes involving other drivers. Two out of three teens who die as passengers are in vehicles driven by other teenagers.More Parenting of Adolescents Q&A
