Contacts: Brian Newbacher   216-606-6701 Sandra Guile   513-762-3372

Teen driver crashes pose greatest threat to other road users, according to AAA

Ohio Teen Driver Coalition to focus advocacy on strengthening Ohio’s GDL law

Columbus, Jan. 18, 2006 – The majority of people killed in teen driver crashes are people other than the teen drivers themselves, according to a recent analysis of ten years of crash data announced today by AAA and the Ohio Teen Driver Coalition. 

The new analysis shows that young novice drivers comprise slightly more than one-third of all the fatalities in crashes in which they are involved; whereas nearly two-thirds of those killed are other vehicle users and pedestrians.  AAA and the Ohio Teen Driver Coalition say these new data provide new urgency to AAA’s advocacy efforts to strengthen Ohio’s graduated driver licensing law (GDL).     

Ray Keyton, executive vice president, AAA Miami Valley; Rep. Tom Raga, R-Mason; Brian Newbacher, director of public affairs, AAA East Central; and Staff Lt. Shawn Davis, Ohio State Highway Patrol, participated in a news conference at the Statehouse in Columbus on Jan. 18 to call attention to House Bill 343, which would strengthen Ohio’s graduated driver license law.

“It’s clear from this analysis that we have to approach the issue of teen driver safety in a different way,” said Brent English, president of the Ohio Conference of AAA Clubs.  “We need to focus on the effects teen driver crashes have on others in addition to the teen drivers themselves.”

The analysis shows that In Ohio, 1,173 lives were lost in crashes involving young novice drivers from 1995-2004; of which, 428 were drivers 15-17 years old, 386 were their passengers, 289 were occupants of vehicles operated by drivers at least 18 years of age, and 70 were non-motorists.

 “The tragedy of teen driver crashes goes well beyond the teen driver and their teen passengers,” said English. 

“These crashes also kill pedestrians and people in other vehicles – that’s somebody’s mother, child, brother, or grandmother.”

Nationally, between 1995 and 2004 crashes involving 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old drivers claimed the lives of 30,917 people nationwide, of which 11,177 (36.2%) were the teen drivers themselves.  The remaining 19,740 (63.6%) included 9,847 passengers of the 15-17-year-old drivers, 7,477 occupants of other vehicles operated by drivers at least 18 years of age, 2,323 non-motorists and 93 others/unknowns.

Susan Pikrallidas, AAA’s national vice president of public affairs, addresses a news conference in Columbus on Jan. 18. She emphasized that almost two thirds of 1,173 people killed since 1994 in crashes involving teen drivers were people other than the teen drivers themselves.

“We view this report as a wake-up call for everyone who uses our roadways to get involved by contacting their state legislators, urging them to strengthen our state GDL law through HB 343,” said English.

With car crashes being the leading cause of death for teenagers, AAA set an ambitious goal in 1997 to pass GDL laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  The goal was achieved with both Wyoming and Montana enacting laws in 2005.  These legislative efforts have helped save lives by requiring teens to get more supervised behind-the-wheel driving experience and phased-in driving privileges during low-risk times until a full license is granted.  However, not all GDL laws are comprehensive.  AAA, in cooperation with the Ohio Teen Driver Coalition, is now focused on strengthening Ohio’s GDL law through HB 343, sponsored by Rep. Tom Raga.

Miss Teen Ohio, Peyton McCormick, of West Chester, Ohio, relates her own experiences driving as a teenager to the media and legislators in attendance on Jan. 18 at the Statehouse in Columbus, in support of House Bill 343.

The teen driver crash data analysis was conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.  The Foundation analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) from 1995 through 2004, identifying and describing all fatal crashes involving 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old drivers of passenger vehicles.

If passed, HB 343, sponsored by Rep. Tom Raga, would:

• Increase the minimum age for a permit from 15 and 6 months to 16 years old.
• Increase the minimum age for an intermediate license from 16 to 16 and six months.
• Add a passenger restriction (no more than one non-family member) to the intermediate license stage.
• Increase the length of the intermediate license (extending the night and passenger restrictions) stage from 12 to 18 months.

The Ohio Teen Driver Coalition includes Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety; Akron Children’s Hospital; Association of Ohio Health Commissioners; Caring Ladies Increasing Community Knowledge (CLICK); Columbus Children’s Hospital; DaimlerChrysler Corporation; Ohio Children’s Hospital Association; the National Safety Council, Central Ohio and Youngstown Chapters; Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Ohio Chapter; Ohio Conference of AAA Clubs; the Ohio Department of Public Safety; the Ohio Insurance Institute; Ohio State Highway Patrol; Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital of Cleveland; Think First Injury Prevention; Police Officer’s Safety Council of Summit County, and the Tri-State Trauma Coalition.