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Teen Auto Fatalities Study Ranks Bay Area Worst Of 50
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Published: May 9, 2008
TAMPA - A new study ranks the Bay area worst out of 50 metro areas in the country for teen drivers.
There were 41.5 fatal crashes per 100,000 teenagers in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area from 2000 through 2006, according to the study by Allstate Insurance Co.
According to the study, October, December and April are the worst months for the fatalities in the Bay area.
By comparison, the safest area in the study, the San Francisco Bay area, saw 12.43 fatal crashes per 100,000 teen drivers in the same period.
The second and third worst areas cited by the study also are in Florida: the Orlando-Kissimmee area and Jacksonville.
Florida ranked 16th among states in per capita teen fatalities. In Florida, 71.2 percent of teen fatal crashes involved male drivers.
According to study data, 40.9 percent of fatal crashes in the Bay area involving teenage drivers had a lack of seatbelt use as a contributing factor. Speeding was a factor in 26.8 percent, and alcohol was a factor in 6.8 percent. In addition, 3.5 percent of crashes involved drug use.
"The study shouldn't just concern parents and leaders in the nation's deadliest hot spots; car crashes claim the lives of more American teens than anything else coast-to-coast," said George Ruebenson, president of Allstate Protection, which is one of the four segments of Allstate Corp. "Although some cities post better scores than others, the whole country must take responsibility for addressing this crisis. We feel that state and federal leaders should enact uniform national standards for graduated driver's licensing laws. Further, we must have better conversations with teens about safe driving and set good examples through our own good driving behavior."
Allstate offers materials to help parents talk to teens about safe driving, including a Parent-Teen Driving Contract that helps set guidelines for smart driving and consequences for not living up to those expectations. Get the contract online at www.allstate.com\teen.
Data from the study can be found at http://media.allstate.com/categories/6/releases/44....
The study used data from a national fatal crashes database, insurance claims information and U.S. Census Bureau statistics.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( signit4bes ) on May 9, 2008 at 11:06 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Nick Hogan...setting the curve!
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Posted by ( largo2889 ) on May 9, 2008 at 11:15 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
You mean missing the curve.
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Posted by ( whyn ) on May 9, 2008 at 11:35 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
All you ahve to do is watch them drive to school and afterwards- you get a good picture of how they drive at night- when they really should be on their toes.
I am a parent in favoe of no drivers license til after graduation from HS- alitte walking or riding bikes would help fight our obesity problem anyway.
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Posted by ( adavis ) on May 9, 2008 at 11:59 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
First, although "(t)he study used data from a national fatal crashes database, insurance claims information and U.S. Census Bureau statistics" it was sponsored by the same insurance company that the state of Florida has twice suspended from issuing new policies in Florida. Are we really to trust anything that Allstate tells us? A "study" like this merely offers a validation for Allstate to charge higher rates in Florida. Secondly, how relevent is this data in mid-2008 when the data was collected between 2000 and 2002? This information might have been relevent 5 or 6 years ago, but the data is now between 6 to 8 years old. The only people covered by this study who are still in their teens, are today's 19-year olds who were 13-years old in 2002 so within 7-months even those few will be in their 20's. I don't see the value in this outdated data.
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Posted by ( Claylisa ) on May 9, 2008 at 12:40 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
adavis very good. A poster after my own heart.
Never trust the stats. Or at least always challenge them. Someone is always "massaging" data for they're own agendas!
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Posted by ( BrassBowldotOrg ) on May 9, 2008 at 12:59 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
The data may have been massaged, but it doesn't change the fact that the biggest cause of death for people between the age of 2 and 34 is vehicle accidents. And mile for mile, teen drivers are more than three times as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as all other drivers.(source: NHTSA.)
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Posted by ( RangerDave ) on May 9, 2008 at 1:02 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Why the hury in releasing the results of the study? Are you kidding me?!
What a joke!!!
adavis...well written!
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Posted by ( c21kims ) on May 9, 2008 at 1:03 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
adavis, I think you're wrong. It is still relevent today. I live across the street from a high school and see accidents on a regular basis...these kids drive like maniacs trying to get out of school every day. Fortunately most of them are just fender benders but there have been a few fatalities too. Last month a kid was hit and killed walking to school - by another kid on his way to school.
And if I recall correctly...the ban on Allstate was for their homeowners division, not auto insurance.
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Posted by ( phil ) on May 9, 2008 at 1:03 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
ok folks...who cares that the data is outdated!!..FACT..teenagers have NO business in driving..period!!...just take a look a the "adults" who drive in this area...need I say More??...it should be noted that driving is NOT a right, but a priviledge from the state...so..I propose that at 18, they all get a license after an approved driving course, get to vote and get to drink....after all...if we can serve and die for our country at 18,why not?
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Posted by ( renelopezwa ) on May 9, 2008 at 1:36 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
agree wholeheartedly with Phil. How can we expect teens to drive responsibly when the adults around them don't. This state needs to give serious about traffic law enforcement. Its ridiculous to give a kid a license and turn them loose but parents do it every day for convenience. The driving tests at DMV are a huge joke! Heck even the law enforcers are known to drive like morons.
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Posted by ( nuts1999 ) on May 9, 2008 at 2:29 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Mom and Dad drive like stupid people so what does that teach the kids? It's ok to drive like a crash dummy. I've said it over and over, Florida has the worst drivers in the U.S. And if you don't believe me, move anywhere else.....
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Posted by ( Claylisa ) on May 9, 2008 at 3:11 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
phil? what age did you start driving?
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Posted by ( HeloDriver ) on May 9, 2008 at 4:53 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Nuts1999, I have to agree with you. I have driven in many places throughout the country, but as soon as I return to Florida, I see a change in driving behavior. The closer I get to Tampa or Orlando, the worse it gets. The problem is that many of these drivers think they are so much better than they are (because they have sooo much experience). The reality is that they don't have good driving skills, and if you put them on a course that challenged those skills, they'd fail miserably. Besides that, everyone is in a hurry...you would think they're on the way to save the world.
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Posted by ( chief94 ) on May 9, 2008 at 9:28 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
i am a old fart but i don't think we should target the teenage drivers alone. the other day i was on I-75 doing about 75 mph when i had to lock up the brakes because while passing a semi, the car behind it decided to move over into my lane and decided that 40 mph was a better speed. guess who the driver was? not a teenager but a eldery man and his wife. so the heck with what the insurance companies are saying about who the worst drivers are. there are good and bad drivers at all ages.
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