Teen Accident Fatality Rates Continue to Concern Georgia Auto Accident Lawyers

Posted on December 17, 2009 by Jason Schultz

 

As an Atlanta auto accident lawyer and the father of children who will soon join the ranks of young motorists on the road, I am particularly interested in issues of teen motorist safety. A new report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration assures me that my concerns are not unfounded.

 

According to the report released last month, young drivers are involved in fatal accidents at rates that are disproportionate to their share of the motorist population. While these drivers made up 9 percent of the national population as of 2007, they constituted 19 percent of traffic deaths in the country. Among the most important findings of the study was that fatalities in accidents involving young motorists aged between 15 and 20, make up one-fifth of all traffic accident deaths in the US.

Nationwide, about 2/3rd of people killed in fatal accidents involving young drivers were either the motorists or their passengers. Out of these passengers, 67 percent were the same age group as the motorist.

 

As I drilled down into accident fatality data for Georgia, I found that:

 

  • Young drivers accounted for 120 fatalities in 2007. Their passengers accounted for a total of 95 fatalities. Out of this, 7 were below 15 years of age, 70 were between 15 and 20 years, and 18 passengers were more than 20 years old.
  • Occupants of the other vehicles made up 74 fatalities
  • Non occupants accounted for 11 deaths in these accidents.
  • Overall in Georgia, 300 people were killed in young driver related accidents in 2007.

I have blogged in the past about the high rates of accident deaths on Georgia’s rural roads compared to its urban areas.  The NHTSA report shows that this difference exists even where teen accidents are concerned. Nationwide, 56 percent of all fatal accidents involving young drivers occur on rural roads. These drivers accounted for 57 percent of nationwide fatality rates.  This statistic is likely due to poorly maintained and designed rural roads, as well as speeding and drunk driving.

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