Posted by: Adam McCann

Getting a driver’s license is considered a rite of passage in American culture. But this exciting coming-of-age has instead become a death sentence for thousands of teens each year. Motor-vehicle accidents continue to be the leading cause of death among the population aged 16 to 19, which also happens to be the age group with the highest risk of crashes.

And the financial implications are staggering. Although 15- to 19-year-olds made up only 6.5% percent of the population in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they racked up 8.4% percent of all costs resulting from motor-vehicle injuries. That’s not counting the costs of auto maintenance, insurance premiums, possible traffic citations and other vehicular incidents — expenses that can pile up over time.

To help parents ensure their teens’ safety while also safeguarding their finances, WalletHub analyzed the teen-driving environment in each of the 50 states using a collection of 23 key metrics. Our data set ranges from number of teen driver fatalities to average cost of car repairs to presence of impaired-driving laws. Read on for our findings, expert commentary and a full description of our methodology.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/4598/geochart-teendrivers.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="https://ift.tt/2y4pZAE>

 

Best States for Teen Drivers

Overall Rank (1 = Best)	State	Total Score	‘Safety’ Rank	‘Economic Environment’ Rank	‘Driving Laws’ Rank
1	Maryland	65.79	2	17	15
2	New York	65.73	1	20	3
3	Massachusetts	62.48	3	19	34
4	Louisiana	61.41	30	2	2
5	Texas	61.18	15	4	16
6	Michigan	60.97	18	1	41
7	Minnesota	60.56	5	10	38
8	New Jersey	59.73	4	23	33
9	Illinois	59.65	9	24	6
10	Delaware	58.91	13	26	4
11	Connecticut	57.50	8	32	23
12	Florida	57.24	11	11	43
13	Oregon	57.19	16	30	5
14	Iowa	57.19	20	7	36
15	North Carolina	57.03	29	5	25
16	Virginia	55.94	7	42	30
17	Kansas	55.59	31	12	17
18	California	54.33	6	49	8
19	Georgia	54.13	23	27	21
20	Arkansas	54.07	37	9	24
21	Maine	54.05	21	29	25
22	Ohio	54.00	14	15	49
23	Vermont	53.34	10	37	43
24	Kentucky	53.32	38	8	27
25	Nevada	53.16	19	40	22
26	Hawaii	52.61	27	34	20
27	Washington	52.33	12	50	1
28	Colorado	52.23	26	41	10
29	Indiana	52.15	25	35	30
30	Wisconsin	52.02	32	21	30
31	Alaska	51.99	24	44	11
32	Oklahoma	51.71	45	3	17
33	South Carolina	51.39	36	22	28
34	Nebraska	51.39	33	14	45
35	Rhode Island	51.38	17	46	14
36	Tennessee	51.16	34	39	7
37	West Virginia	50.61	41	18	9
38	Pennsylvania	49.10	35	33	39
39	Utah	48.60	22	48	19
40	Alabama	48.15	44	25	13
41	Idaho	47.54	28	45	34
42	New Mexico	47.44	42	36	12
43	Mississippi	46.24	49	6	29
44	New Hampshire	45.53	43	28	40
45	North Dakota	44.41	47	13	42
46	Montana	43.01	40	43	47
47	Arizona	42.44	39	47	37
48	Missouri	41.62	48	16	48
49	South Dakota	39.24	46	31	50
50	Wyoming	34.67	50	38	46

Ask the Experts

Although teens are responsible for their own actions, parents shoulder much of the emotional and financial consequences when things go south. And in areas where teen deaths resulting from car crashes are most prevalent, it’s up to lawmakers to implement programs and policies to reduce those numbers. For additional insight and advice, we asked a panel of experts to share their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What tips do you have for parents of teen drivers?
2. What is the biggest risk that teen drivers face?
3. What tips do you have for minimizing the costs (insurance, etc.) associated with having a teen driver in the household?
4. Should we increase the age at which an individual is eligible for a license to 18?
5. What should policymakers do to increase the safety of teen drivers?

< >

• Gary P. Sullivan MBA, CPCU, AIC, AIM, AIS – Assistant Professor, Risk Management, Mercyhurst University
• Nick Ferenchak Ph.D., EI – Assistant Professor, Department of Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering, University of New Mexico
• Charlie Klauer Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Alisa H. Walch Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Instruction, Department of Mathematics, College of Natural Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin

Methodology

In order to determine the best and worst states for teen drivers, WalletHub analyzed the teen-driving environment in the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Safety, 2) Economic Environment and 3) Driving Laws.

We evaluated those dimensions using 23 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for teen drivers. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), the square root of the population was used to calculate the “Number of Residents” in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across states.

We then determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Safety – Total Points: 50

• Teen Driver Fatalities per 100,000 Teens: Double Weight (~8.00 Points)
• Vehicle Miles Traveled per Capita: Half Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Traffic Indiscipline: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)Note: This is a composite metric that measures incidents due to poor behavior: phone use, speeding, aggressive acceleration, harsh braking, and poor turning.
• Teen “Under the Influence” Traffic Violations per 100,000 Teens: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Share of Teen Drinking & Driving: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Share of Teen Texting/Emailing While Driving: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Share of Teenagers Aged 18 to 24 Years Always or Nearly Always Wearing a Seatbelt: Double Weight (~8.00 Points)
• Cost of Teen Crash-Related Deaths per 100,000 Teens: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)
• Quality of Roads: Double Weight (~8.00 Points)
• Driving Schools per Capita*: Full Weight (~4.00 Points)

Economic Environment – Total Points: 40

• Maximum Cost of Speeding Ticket: Half Weight (~2.67 Points)
• Maximum Cost of Red-Light Ticket: Half Weight (~2.67 Points)
• Maximum Amount of First-Offense Fines for Not Wearing Seat Belt: Half Weight (~2.67 Points)
• Premium Increase After Adding Teen Driver to Parent’s Auto-Insurance Policy: Double Weight (~10.67 Points)
• Average Cost of Car Repairs: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)
• Average Gas Prices: Double Weight (~10.67 Points)
• Punitiveness of Insurance Companies Toward High-Risk Drivers: Full Weight (~5.33 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s States with the Highest & Lowest Insurance-Premium Penalties for High-Risk Drivers ranking.

Driving Laws – Total Points: 10

• Provision of Teen Driver's Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) Program Laws: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Presence of Occupant-Protection Laws: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Presence of Impaired-Driving Laws: Half Weight (~1.00 Points)
• Presence of Distracted-Driving/Texting-While-Driving Laws: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)
• Presence of Red-Light & Speeding-Camera Laws: Half Weight (~1.00 Points)
• Leniency Toward DUI Violations: Full Weight (~2.00 Points)Note: This metric is based on WalletHub’s Strictest & Most Lenient States on DUI ranking.

Videos for News Use:

• YouTube (for web embedding National)
• Raw files (for editing into clips)

 Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, EverQuote, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Road Information Program, CarMD, InsuranceQuotes, the Governors Highway Safety Association, American Automobile Association and WalletHub research.

Image: Phairin Theekawong / Shutterstock.com

from Wallet HubWallet Hub


via Finance Xpress