According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been a decline in the number of fatal accidents involving teen drivers. Not surprisingly to New York car accident attorneys, the agency is attributing this decline to the sluggish economy. There was especially good news for parents of teen motorists in New York. According to the CDC study, New York is one of the safest states for teen motorists, with only 10 out of every 100,000 teen drivers here involved in fatal accidents.
The CDC report analyzed fatal teen accident rates between 2004 and 2008. During this period of time, there were a total of 9, 644 teen drivers aged 16 and 17 years old, who were involved in fatal accidents. 37percent of the fatalities in these accidents were the teen drivers themselves, while 31% were their passengers. The remaining included the drivers and passengers of the other vehicles, as well as pedestrians and bicyclists. 65% of the teen drivers involved in these accidents were male. 36% of the teen drivers were believed to be speeding at the time of the crash.
According to the CDC, the main factor in the decline in teen driver-related fatal accidents has been the state of the economy. Most tellingly, the decline in fatalities was the steepest between 2007 and 2008. This was the time when gas prices fluctuated dramatically, which likely discouraged teen drivers from traveling. Besides, the dismal economic situation meant that fewer teen drivers applied to receive their driver’s licenses over this period of time.
There are also a few non-economic reasons for this decline. For instance, many states now have strong GDL programs in place that prevent teen drivers from driving at night on their own, or with fellow teen passengers. Besides, increased seatbelt use, safer automobiles and the general reduction in alcohol-related car accidents, also helped keep teen driver death rates under control.