Teen Crash Facts

Minnesota Teen Crash Facts for 2020 (15-19 years)

39 teens died in traffic crashes, 3,673 were injured

There were 44 fatal crashes and 9,236 crashes involving teens. 50 people died in “teen involved” crashes

“Teen involved” means that a teen driver was involved in the crash involving any motor vehicle. It does not mean that they caused the crash.

Minnesota teen drivers continue to be overrepresented in traffic crashes due to driver inexperience, distractions, speeding/risk-taking, and seat belt non-use. The greatest crash risk occurs during the first months of independent driving. The good news is that progress has been made. Laws such as no cell phone use, no texting, primary seat belt, and nighttime and passenger limitations have helped reduce teen traffic deaths and injuries.

In 2005, 21.9% of all traffic crashes were “teen involved”. In 2020 teens

represent 6% of drivers and 16% of crashes

     Contributing factors in teen crashes: as listed most often by officers on the scene —-

• • • Failure to yield
    • Following too closely
    • Driver inattention/distraction

• • Of the 15 teen drivers killed, 4 teens were tested for alcohol and all were over the legal limit
  • Male and female drivers had about the same crash history at the ages of 16 and 17 but after that, male drivers crashed more than females.

Teen drivers had more crashes in the winter months

        but more serious crashes in the summer

The most dangerous time for teen driver crashes

               are afternoons

For more information on teen driving go to

 https://dps.mn.gov/DIVISIONS/OTS/TEEN-DRIVING/Pages/default.aspx

Minnesota crash information taken from Minnesota Crash Facts 2020

https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ots/reports-statistics/Documents/2020-minnesota-motor-vehicle-crash-facts.pdf