25 Teen Driver Statistics Every Parent Should Know
How much riskier teen drivers are per mile, how many teens die in crashes, phone and seat belt habits, night and passenger risks, what graduated licensing achieves, and what a teen adds to a family auto policy, in 25 cited statistics.
Handing a teenager the car keys is a milestone for any family, and it is also the moment the household’s crash risk and its auto insurance bill change the most. Per mile driven, new drivers crash far more often than experienced ones, and the reasons are well documented: inexperience, nighttime driving, teen passengers, speed, and phones. This report brings together 25 cited statistics on teen crash risk, teen deaths, the habits behind them, the licensing rules that reduce them, and what adding a young driver means for a family policy. Every figure comes from a federal agency, a safety research body, or an insurance research organization and was checked on the source’s own page.
Key Takeaways
- Per mile, teens are the riskiest drivers - the fatal crash rate per mile for drivers ages 16 to 19 is just over 3 times the rate for drivers 20 and older, and risk peaks at ages 16 and 17.
- Crashes remain a leading killer of teens - 2,899 teenagers ages 13 to 19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2024, about three in four of them male.
- Phones are a constant temptation - 46% of high school students who drove in 2025 texted or emailed while driving in the prior 30 days.
- Night and passengers multiply risk - 53% of teen driving deaths in 2024 happened between 6 p.m. and 3 a.m., and carrying three or more young passengers quadruples a 16- or 17-year-old driver’s risk of death per mile.
- Graduated licensing works - teen crash deaths fell 50% between 1996 and 2024, the period in which every state adopted graduated licensing.
- Insurance costs jump - adding a teenager to a policy can raise a parent’s premium by 50% or even 100%.
How much riskier teen drivers are
1. Teens’ fatal crash rate per mile is about 3 times that of adults
Using federal travel survey data, IIHS calculates that the fatal crash rate per mile driven for 16- to 19-year-olds is just over 3 times the rate for drivers 20 and older. The risk is highest at ages 16 and 17, the first years behind the wheel. Teens drive fewer miles than every age group except the oldest drivers, yet their crash numbers stay disproportionately high. Per-mile risk is the measure insurers care about most, because it shows danger that raw crash counts can hide.
2. Counting all crashes, teens crash more than 4 times as often
The gap is even wider when minor crashes are included. Based on police-reported crashes of all severities, the crash rate for drivers ages 16 to 19 is over 4 times the rate for drivers 20 and older. Most of those crashes produce property damage or minor injuries rather than deaths. They are exactly the fender benders that turn into collision and property damage liability claims on a family policy.
3. Teens log 7.5 fatal crash involvements per 100 million miles
IIHS’s mileage-based rates make the comparison concrete. In 2022, drivers ages 16 to 19 had 7.5 fatal crash involvements per 100 million miles traveled, compared with 5.1 for drivers in their 20s and 1.9 for drivers ages 30 to 59. Teen boys were higher still at 9.2, against 5.2 for teen girls. Risk falls steeply with experience and rises only modestly again for drivers 70 and older, at 3.0.
4. Young drivers are 5.1% of drivers but 8.9% of those in fatal crashes
Drivers ages 15 to 20 made up only 5.1% of licensed drivers in 2023, yet they were 8.9% of all drivers involved in fatal crashes and 12% of drivers in police-reported crashes. In all, 5,133 young drivers were involved in fatal crashes that year. That overrepresentation is the statistical foundation for higher teen premiums. Insurers are pricing the same pattern that federal crash data show year after year.
5. Young male drivers are involved in fatal crashes at nearly 3 times the rate of young women
In 2023, male drivers ages 15 to 20 were involved in fatal crashes at a rate of 60.94 per 100,000 licensed drivers, almost three times the 22.47 rate for young female drivers. The gap also shows up in speeding and alcohol involvement, covered below. Parents of teen sons have particular reason to set firm rules early.
How many teens die in crashes
6. 2,899 teenagers died in crashes in 2024
A total of 2,899 teenagers ages 13 to 19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2024, 67% fewer than in 1975. About three of every four were male. Teens accounted for 7% of all crash deaths that year and 9% of passenger vehicle occupant deaths. The 2024 total was down from 3,056 in 2023 but still above the 2019 total of 2,394.
Data
| 2019 | 2,394 |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 2,767 |
| 2021 | 3,090 |
| 2022 | 2,896 |
| 2023 | 3,056 |
| 2024 | 2,899 |
7. Crashes were the leading cause of death for teens in 2024
Motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death among both male and female teenagers ages 13 to 19 in 2024. National death records counted 2,921 teen crash deaths that year, compared with 2,463 suicides and 2,353 homicides. That count comes from a different federal data system than the crash census above, which is why the totals differ slightly. Either way, no other single cause claims more teenage lives.
8. Crashes involving teen drivers killed 3,996 people in 2024
Teen crashes do not only harm teens. In 2024, 3,996 people died in traffic crashes involving drivers ages 15 to 19, a total that includes passengers, occupants of other vehicles, and pedestrians. Among passenger deaths of all ages, 13% occurred when a teenager was driving. For a family policy, that means the teen’s liability coverage may be responding to injuries to other people, not just damage to the family car.
How many teens are licensed
9. More than 9 million licensed drivers are 19 or younger
State licensing records counted 9,083,348 licensed drivers ages 19 and under in 2024, or 3.8% of the 239.8 million licensed drivers in the country. That is roughly one-third of the population in that age range. Insurers generally expect every licensed driver in a household to be listed on the family policy.
10. Only about a quarter of 16-year-olds have a license
Teens are licensing later than the stereotype suggests. In 2024, just 26.2% of 16-year-olds held a driver’s license, rising to 44.4% at 17, 60.4% at 18, and 68.8% at 19. By ages 25 to 29, licensing reaches 89.3%. IIHS notes that crash risk for teen drivers is particularly high during the first months of licensure, so the first year deserves the closest supervision.
Phones, seat belts, speed, and alcohol
11. 46% of high school drivers texted or emailed while driving
In the 2025 national youth survey, 46% of high school students who had driven in the past 30 days said they texted or emailed while driving during that period. The rate was 36% in 2021 and 42% in 2023, though the CDC reports the change from 2023 to 2025 was not statistically significant. Nearly one in two teen drivers using a phone at the wheel is a risk families can address directly with phone-free driving rules and apps that silence notifications.
12. Distraction-affected crashes killed 186 teens in 2024
Federal crash reports linked 186 teen deaths in 2024 to distraction-affected crashes, 7% of the 2,662 teens ages 15 to 19 killed in traffic crashes that year. Another way to see it: 241 teen drivers were distracted at the time of a fatal crash, 8% of all distracted drivers in fatal crashes. Because distraction is hard to prove after a crash, these figures likely understate the problem. Compare them with the survey data above and the gap between reported behavior and recorded crashes is clear.
13. 54% of young drivers killed were not wearing a seat belt
Among drivers ages 15 to 20 killed in passenger vehicles in 2023, 54% were unrestrained, based on known belt use, compared with 49% of all passenger vehicle drivers killed. Among young drivers who survived fatal crashes, only 17% were unbelted. The contrast between those who died and those who lived is one of the strongest arguments parents can make for buckling up on every trip.
14. 37% of young male drivers in fatal crashes were speeding
Speeding is concentrated among the youngest drivers. In 2023, 37% of male drivers ages 15 to 20 involved in fatal crashes were speeding, compared with 21% of male drivers of all ages. Among young female drivers the figure was 18%, against 12% for female drivers overall. IIHS reports that excessive speed is a factor in almost a third of teen drivers’ fatal crash involvements.
15. 20% of 16- and 17-year-old drivers killed were over the legal alcohol limit
Even though they cannot legally drink, an estimated 20% of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers ages 16 and 17 had blood alcohol concentrations at or above 0.08% in 2024. That is down from 41% in 1982 but has been mostly climbing since 2017. Among fatally injured drivers ages 16 to 19, 34% had some alcohol in their system. Research shows young drivers face a sharply higher crash risk than adults at the same blood alcohol level.
16. Impairment among young drivers in fatal pedestrian crashes has doubled
Alcohol is also showing up more often when young drivers strike people walking. In pedestrian deaths involving a driver ages 16 to 24, the driver had a blood alcohol concentration above 0.08 in 15.6% of crashes in 2024, more than double the 7.2% recorded in 2019. That trend runs against the broader decline in alcohol impairment among pedestrians themselves. A single impaired-driving crash can produce both criminal charges and a liability claim that exceeds a family’s policy limits.
Night driving, passengers, and summer
17. More than half of teen driving deaths happen between 6 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Night is the most dangerous time for teen drivers. In 2024, 35% of teen driving deaths occurred between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., and 53% occurred between 6 p.m. and 3 a.m. Per mile driven, the fatal crash rate at night for drivers ages 16 to 19 is about 3 times as high as that of drivers ages 30 to 59. That is why nighttime driving limits are a core feature of graduated licensing laws.
- 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. 35%
- 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. 18%
- All other hours 47%
18. Weekends and summer months are the peak periods
Some 51% of teen crash deaths in 2024 occurred on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, with Saturday alone accounting for 549 deaths, and teen deaths peaked in June. AAA’s review of national crash data found that more than 30% of fatal crashes involving teen drivers occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day. AAA describes summer as the time when teens gain more independence behind the wheel, which makes it a good time to revisit house driving rules.
19. Three or more young passengers quadruple a teen driver’s risk of death
A study of crashes from 2007 to 2010 found that, compared with driving alone, a 16- or 17-year-old driver’s risk of death per mile increases 44% with one passenger under 21, doubles with two, and quadruples with three or more. Carrying at least one passenger age 35 or older had the opposite effect, cutting the risk of death by 62%. The data are older than most figures in this report, but they remain the clearest per-mile measure of passenger risk, and most states now limit teen passengers as part of graduated licensing.
20. 58% of teen passenger deaths happen with a teen at the wheel
Passenger risk shows up in the fatality data too. In 2024, 58% of teenage passengers who died in passenger vehicles were riding in a vehicle driven by another teenager. That makes the question of who your teen rides with as important as how they drive. Parents can apply the same passenger rules to riding as to driving.
21. 41% of teen drivers in fatal crashes were in single-vehicle crashes
Among passenger vehicle drivers ages 16 to 19 involved in fatal crashes in 2024, 41% were in single-vehicle crashes, the highest share of any age group. These are typically high-speed crashes in which the teen loses control of the vehicle. A single-vehicle crash leaves no other driver to share fault, so collision coverage on the family’s own policy pays for the damage.
What graduated licensing achieves
22. Teen crash deaths fell 50% after graduated licensing spread
Florida adopted the first U.S. graduated licensing system in 1996. Between 1996 and 2024, as every state and the District of Columbia followed, teenage crash deaths fell 50%, from 5,819 to 2,899. National studies by IIHS and HLDI found that strong limits on night driving and teen passengers, along with later licensing ages, reduce both fatal crashes and insurance losses among teen drivers. IIHS’s current best practices include a minimum permit age of 16, at least 70 hours of supervised practice, an intermediate license age of 17, a night restriction starting at 8 p.m., and a ban on teen passengers.
23. Licensing at 17 instead of 16 cuts fatal crashes by 13%
The age at which teens can drive alone has a measurable effect. Raising the licensing age from 16 to 17 is associated with a 13% lower fatal crash rate among 15- to 17-year-olds and a 9% reduction in collision claim rates among 16-year-old licensed drivers. New Jersey is the only state that does not license until 17, and its combined crash rate for 16- and 17-year-olds is far lower than in neighboring states. Families in other states can apply the same principle by delaying solo driving.
What a teen driver means for your insurance bill
24. Adding a teen can raise a parent’s premium by 50% to 100%
Teen premiums are higher because, as a group, teens pose a higher crash risk than experienced drivers. Adding a teenager to a policy can mean a 50% or even 100% increase in the parents’ premium. Many insurers offer a good student discount, generally for a grade point average of B or higher, and some discount for safe-driving programs or monitoring apps. The actual increase depends on the state, the insurer, the vehicle the teen drives, and the coverage on the policy.
25. Young drivers’ fatal crash rate is 74% above the all-driver average
Insurers price teens on the same data regulators publish. In 2023, drivers ages 16 to 20 were involved in fatal crashes at a rate of 42.40 per 100,000 licensed drivers, compared with 24.38 for drivers of all ages and 19.45 for drivers ages 55 to 64. That is the highest rate of any age group. As teens gain experience and age into their 20s, their crash rates fall, and premiums typically fall with them. For a broader look at what drivers pay, see our auto insurance cost statistics.
How to keep a teen driver safer and the policy affordable
The research points to a set of practical steps that reduce both crash risk and the cost of covering a new driver:
- Use the graduated licensing playbook at home. Limit night driving and teen passengers in the first year, the two restrictions IIHS ties to fewer fatal crashes and lower insurance losses.
- Make the car a phone-free zone. With 46% of high school drivers texting while driving, a written family agreement and a do-not-disturb setting are simple safeguards.
- Ask about discounts before you add your teen. Good student and safe-driving program discounts vary by insurer, so review our carrier comparison and compare quotes with your teen included.
- Check your state’s rules. Licensing ages and restrictions differ by state, so see local requirements in our coverage directory.
- Know where the numbers come from. Our methodology page explains how we verify every figure.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much more likely are teen drivers to crash?
Per mile driven, the fatal crash rate for drivers ages 16 to 19 is just over 3 times the rate for drivers 20 and older, and counting crashes of all severities, teens crash more than 4 times as often. Risk is highest at ages 16 and 17 and falls steadily with experience.
How many teenagers die in car crashes each year?
In 2024, 2,899 teenagers ages 13 to 19 died in motor vehicle crashes, and crashes were the leading cause of death for that age group. Crashes involving drivers ages 15 to 19 killed 3,996 people in total that year, including passengers, other motorists, and pedestrians.
What is the most dangerous time for teen drivers?
Night. In 2024, 53% of teen driving deaths occurred between 6 p.m. and 3 a.m., and 51% of teen crash deaths happened on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. More than 30% of fatal crashes involving teen drivers occur in the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Do passengers make teen drivers more dangerous?
Yes. Compared with driving alone, a 16- or 17-year-old’s risk of death per mile rises 44% with one young passenger, doubles with two, and quadruples with three or more. An adult passenger age 35 or older cuts that risk by 62%.
How much does adding a teen driver raise car insurance?
Adding a teenager can raise a parent’s premium by 50% or even 100%, depending on the state, insurer, and vehicle. Good student and safe-driving discounts can offset part of the increase, so it pays to compare offers on our auto insurance pages before adding a new driver.