Driver Study Ranks Local Teens Last

TAMPA - A new study ranks the Bay area the worst 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.

October, December and April are the worst months for fatalities in the Tampa Bay area, the study found.

By comparison, the safest area in the study, the San Francisco Bay Area, had 12.43 fatal crashes per 100,000 teen drivers in the same period.

The second- and third-worst areas cited by the study also were 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 Tampa Bay area involving teenage drivers had a lack of seat-belt 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.

"Although some cities post better scores than others, the whole country must take responsibility for addressing this crisis," said George Ruebenson, president of Allstate Protection, which is one of the four segments of Allstate Corp. "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. Get the contract online at www .allstate.com\teen.

Data from the study can be found at media.allstate.com/categories/6/releases/4403.