Best States for Teen Drivers Ranking Methodology

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fsd of AZ 11:22AM March 22, 2011

How is having a lower % of teen drivers help the state become one of the best states for teen drivers? Your title is misleading. Highest % fo teens driving, easiest to get a license, lowest teen insurance rates, low teen death rates, least amount of teen driving restrictions. Combine those things and you could have an article worthy fo the title.

Richard of ID 10:31AM December 26, 2010

wouldnt the % of teens involved in accidents out of teen drivers there are in the state give you the safest states for teen drivers?

travis of CO 1:54PM December 09, 2010

How can anyone take this seriously. The only real stats are accident rates, all the other stuff is either irrelivant or it is reflected in the above stats. It is like winning a timed race on style and not actual time.

Roger of NM 11:31PM September 19, 2010

When I was a teenager the amount of red tape (Smog, Insurance, etc) in california to get a license was infuriating. Not everyone wants what someone else thinks is in their best interest. If I want to ride a bike without a helmet that's my dang business. If I want to go discount bungie jumping it's all on me.
If I don't want to wear a seat belt that's my decison about my life. These nanny's are some of the same people who lowered the BAC from 0.10 to 0.08 and almost ruin your life if you blow a 0.11. not everyone who is a teenager or an adult want to trade their freedoms for safety. If fewer rules results in more fatalities then so be it.

Mike of TX 2:42AM August 29, 2010

How can you get good information out of a state like California where 50% of drivers are unlicensed and undocumented. Those statistics fall between the cracks and are ignored.

yosef of NV 12:38AM June 20, 2010

"Research by IIHS found that delaying the licensing age from 16 to 16½ reduced the fatal crash rate of 15-to-17-year-olds by 7 percent. Restricting driving after 9 p.m. cut fatal crashes by 18 percent, compared with states with no restrictions. When novice drivers were prohibited from having teenage passengers, the fatal crash rate was 21 percent lower than if two or more passengers were allowed."
1) Why measure fatality rate in 15-17 if you can't drive 15-16?
2) Delaying licensing from 16-16.5, and measuring crashes between 16-17... you're cutting off 50% of the time one can drive, but only reducing the number of crashes by 7%. 7% reduction for 50% less driving time... it should be more than 50% if you're reducing the rate of lifelong crashes. Or are you just measuring crashes/time? Then it's still a VERY modest reduction, considering that the first 15 year of one's life they don't drive much, and the last 20-30 they drive less, you basically drive less in college, may not own a car your whole life... you're basically cutting off 4-5% of one's lifetime driving hours...

Confused of MA 8:47AM May 13, 2010

Read the methodology; this study is misinformation, and the writer and the magazine ought to be slapped with lawsuits for publishing blatantly misleading crap.

Sam of NY 8:35AM May 13, 2010

I found thisstate rankings for teen drivers to be somewhat flawed (though hopefully not intentionally misleading...). The most important statistic should be the percentage of teens with licenses involved in accidents, a statistic conspicuously absent from the reporting. Using thier own numbers (from this website) of NUMBER of teens with licenses and average teen driver deaths per year, D.C. turns out to be the second WORST state with 0.16% of teen drivers dying, in spite of its "excellent" laws, cameras and minimal vehicle miles per capita. The report seems to be at best wishful thinking on what someone thinks SHOULD be important, in spite of the reality of teen driving. Graphing the actual percentage of teen drivers deaths against the ranking results in no discernable pattern at all and is virtually random considering the "variables". THe supposed worst state of S.Dakota is actually a respectable #20, and the true safest state for teen drivers, at .03% is the #9, Utah followed closely by the supposed number 20, New Hampshire.

Stephen of PA 9:27AM May 03, 2010

I think that the driving laws in place are pretty damn good. The only bad thing is that a vast majority of people don't take them seriously. They need to find ways to represent the inevitable wave of new driving laws as somthing other then a rediculus, repetative and non-relenting torrent. I might suggest starting the teaching process of driving earlier, so children have an idea of what kind of responsiblity they will be entrusted to them in their future, and also so people don't have to pay for somthing that should be free, being driving lessons. I think it is rediculous that this hasn't been put in place yet, as driving effects anyone on the road, which is anyone in the country.

TROLL 1:48PM March 31, 2010