Driver education and fatal crash involvement of teenaged drivers

Abstract

Fatal crash involvement of teenagers per licensed driver and per population in 27 states was related to the proportions of teenagers who received high school driver education. Among 16-17 year olds, driver education was associated with a great increase in the number of licensed drivers, without a decrease in the fatal crash involvement per 10,000 licensed drivers. About 80 per cent of the 16-17 year olds who took high school driver education obtained licenses that they would not otherwise have obtained until age 18 or thereafter. The net effect is much higher death involvement rates per 10,000 population, on average, in states with greater proportions of 16-17 year olds receiving high school driver education. The data suggest that most teenagers would obtained licenses when they are 18-19 year old, irrespective of high school driver education, and indicate that differences among the states in fatal crash involvement rates per 10,000 licesed 18-19 year licensed drivers were not significantly related to either high school driver education or delayed licensure.