Teen Driving Fatalities by State: Trends, Contributing Factors, and Year-Over-Year Changes

1. The National Picture: Teen Driver Fatalities in 2023 

1.1 Scale and Trend 

In 2023, 2,148 drivers ages 15–20 died in traffic crashes, a 5% increase from 2,037 in 2022 (NHTSA DOT HS 813736, 2025). When passengers and third parties are included, 3,262 people total were killed in crashes involving a teen driver between the ages of 15 and 20, a 5.8% rise from the 3,082 recorded in 2022 (NHTSA FARS 2023). This marks the second consecutive year of increase following post-pandemic improvement and represents levels not seen since the early 2010s. 

Teen drivers represent a disproportionate share of crash involvement relative to their presence on the road. Drivers ages 15–20 comprised only 5% of all licensed drivers in 2023 yet accounted for 8.9% of all drivers involved in fatal crashes and 12% of drivers involved in police-reported crashes (NHTSA DOT HS 813736, 2025; autoinsurance.com, 2026). 

1.2 Long-Term Progress, Recent Reversal 

From 1975 to 2023, the rate of passenger vehicle drivers ages 16–19 involved in fatal crashes per 100,000 people declined by 61% — the largest improvement of any age group, and largely attributable to the nationwide rollout of Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) systems beginning in the mid-1990s (IIHS, 2023). However, the sharp post-2020 increase has erased approximately three years of those gains. The 2023 figure of 3,048 total teen crash deaths remains 31.4% above the pre-pandemic 2019 level (NHTSA FARS).

Figure 1. Teen driver fatalities involving drivers ages 15–20, year-over-year trend, 2019–2023

1.3 Demographics of Risk 

Male teen drivers are substantially overrepresented. Young male drivers ages 15–20 had a fatal crash involvement rate of 60.94 per 100,000 licensed drivers in 2023, versus 22.47 for young female drivers in the same age range (NHTSA DOT HS 813736, 2025). Male teens are nearly three times as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as female teens, driven by higher rates of speeding, aggressive driving, and DUI involvement (autoinsurance.com, 2026).

2. Contributing Factors: What's Killing Teen Drivers 

2.1 Speeding 

Speeding was a contributing factor in a significant share of fatal teen crashes in 2023. In 2023 alone, 1,984 teen drivers lost their lives in speeding-related crashes, an 8.7% increase from the 1,826 recorded in 2022 (NHTSA FARS 2023). Nationally, speeding was a factor in approximately 28% of all fatal crashes involving teen drivers (NHTSA). Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed and to allow shorter following distances, both reflecting the attentional and risk-assessment limitations associated with inexperienced driving (CDC Teen Driver Fact Sheet). 

2.2 Alcohol and Impaired Driving 

Although teen drivers are less likely than adults to drive after drinking, their crash risk is substantially higher when they do. In 2023, 32% of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers ages 16–19 had positive blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) (IIHS, 2023). Teen drivers with BACs between 0.05% and 0.079% are 12 times more likely to be killed in a single-vehicle crash than sober teen drivers. At BACs of 0.08%–0.099%, fatality risk rises to 32 times that of sober drivers (Voas et al., 2012, cited in IIHS). In 2023, 687 teen drivers were killed in DUI crashes, an 8.7% increase from 632 in 2022 (NHTSA FARS 2023). 

2.3 Distracted Driving 

Distracted driving was a factor in approximately 8% of teen crashes in 2023 (IIHS/autoinsurance.com, 2026). In 2023, 348 teens were killed in motor vehicle accidents due to distracted driving, a 17.6% increase from the 296 deaths recorded in 2022 (NHTSA FARS 2023). Teens aged 15–20 have the highest percentage of distracted drivers at 7%, compared to the 5% overall average for all age groups (NHTSA Research Note: Distracted Driving in 2023, DOT HS 813703). 

2.4 Seatbelt Non-Use 

Seatbelt non-use among teens is persistently among the highest of any age group. In 2023, 50% of teen drivers who died in crashes were unbuckled (NHTSA). When the teen driver was unbuckled, nine out of ten passengers who died were also unbuckled (NHTSA FARS 2023). Among passenger vehicle drivers ages 16–19 involved in fatal crashes in 2023, 43% were involved in single-vehicle crashes, the highest share of any age group — crashes where seatbelts are most life-saving (IIHS Fatality Facts, 2023).

Figure 2. Contributing factors in teen driver fatal crashes, 2023 (% of teen driver fatalities where factor was present)

2.5 Passenger Presence and Peer Risk

Teen passengers dramatically amplify crash risk. In 2023, 59% of deaths of teenage passengers in passenger vehicles occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager (IIHS Fatality Facts, 2023). Among deaths of passengers of all ages, 15% occurred when a teenager was driving — despite teen drivers representing only 5% of licensed drivers. Teens are more likely to engage in risky behaviors, including speeding and phone use, when peers are present in the vehicle.

3. State Rankings: Highest Teen Driver Fatality Rates 

State rankings below reflect teen driver fatality rates per 100,000 licensed teen drivers, drawn from NHTSA FARS 2023 Final File analysis. States are ranked from highest to lowest rate. Contributing factors per state are drawn from NHTSA state traffic data (DOT HS 813743, 2023) and IIHS GDL law ratings. 

Figure 3. Teen driver fatality rate per 100,000 teen drivers — top 10 states vs. national average (2023, NHTSA FARS) 

4. State Profiles: What's Driving the Numbers 

1. Mississippi: 66.15 Deaths per 100,000 Teen Drivers 

Mississippi ranks first in teen driver fatality rate by a wide margin, with a rate of 66.15 per 100,000 licensed teen drivers, more than 13 times the rate of the safest state, Minnesota. Mississippi also records the highest overall traffic fatality rate in the US at 1.79 deaths per 100 million VMT (NHTSA State Traffic Data 2023). The state has no mandatory driver's education requirement, a weak GDL framework, and among the lowest seatbelt compliance rates nationally (80%, versus 90.4% nationally per NHTSA's National Occupant Protection Use Survey). Rural geography, limited emergency response capacity, and a lack of public transportation that forces more and younger teens to drive all compound the risk. 

2. Tennessee: 41.34 Deaths per 100,000 Teen Drivers 

Tennessee has no formal driver's education requirement and only a primary texting ban with no full handheld prohibition. The state's rural character and relatively weak GDL framework, including a moderate nighttime restriction and passenger limits, leave teen drivers with limited structural protection. Only 76.3% of Tennessee drivers are insured, the third-lowest in the country, adding financial risk alongside physical danger. 

3. Arizona: 39.93 Deaths per 100,000 Teen Drivers 

Arizona's elevated rate is driven largely by speeding and high vehicle miles traveled per capita. The state requires driver's education but has a moderate GDL framework. Heat related road degradation and a large proportion of rural highway driving contribute to risk. Arizona also has a fatality rate per 100 million VMT among the highest in the Southwest. 

4. Arkansas: 39.44 Deaths per 100,000 Teen Drivers 

Arkansas has a weak GDL framework and among the highest rural road fatality exposure in the country. Rural roads account for a disproportionate share of teen crash deaths here, consistent with the national pattern showing rural fatality rates per 100 million VMT (1.65) are roughly 1.5 times higher than urban rates (1.07) (NHTSA State Traffic Data, 2023). Low seatbelt compliance among teens and elevated DUI involvement compound the risk. 

5–6. North Carolina and Montana: ~37 Deaths per 100,000 Teen Drivers 

North Carolina's rate reflects high speeding and distracted driving involvement among teen drivers. Montana's profile is distinct: over 80% of its crash deaths occur on rural roads, the highest rural proportion in the country, and alcohol is a documented factor in roughly a third of all traffic fatalities statewide (IIHS; NHTSA 2023). Montana has a weak GDL framework with limited nighttime and passenger restrictions. 

7–10. West Virginia, Texas, Indiana, South Carolina 

West Virginia and South Carolina both reflect the compounding effect of weak GDL laws and high rural road exposure. South Carolina holds the second-highest fatality rate per 100 million VMT among all drivers nationally at 1.72 (NHTSA 2023) and consistently tracks above the national average for unrestrained occupant deaths. Texas's presence in the top 10 is driven largely by volume — as the second most populous state, even a moderate per-capita rate generates large absolute fatality counts — combined with a partial handheld ban and moderate GDL strength. Indiana's rate reflects seatbelt non-use and speeding as primary contributors.

5. GDL Laws, Driver Education, and the Path to Safer Outcomes 

5.1 What the Best States Are Doing Differently 

The contrast between the worst and best states is striking. Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York consistently rank among the safest states for teen drivers, and the policy profile of each shares common features: strong GDL laws, mandatory driver's education, a high density of licensed driving schools, and active enforcement of distracted driving and DUI laws. 

New Jersey is the only US state that does not license drivers until age 17, effectively eliminating all 16-year-old crash involvement. Studies confirm that the combined crash rate of 16- and 17-year-olds in New Jersey is far lower than in neighboring states with earlier licensing ages (IIHS, Ferguson et al., 1996). New York has mandatory supervised hours, pre licensing courses, and some of the strictest distracted and impaired driving laws in the nation (Newsweek, 2025). 

Figure 4. GDL law strength vs. teen driver fatality rate — selected state comparisons (2023)

5.2 IIHS Best Practice GDL Provisions

The IIHS identifies the following as current best practices for GDL design. States that implement all five provisions consistently record teen driver fatality rates 30–50% below those of states with the weakest laws:

• Minimum permit age of 16 or older
• Minimum intermediate license age of 17
• At least 70 hours of supervised practice driving
• Nighttime driving restriction beginning no later than 8 p.m.
• Ban on all teen passengers during the intermediate stage

Of the top 10 worst states for teen fatalities, none fully meets all five IIHS best practice provisions. Mississippi, Arkansas, and Montana all have particularly thin GDL frameworks with permissive nighttime and passenger restrictions (IIHS GDL Laws Table, 2024).

5.3 The Role of Driver Education

Professional driver's education, when combined with strong GDL laws rather than used to accelerate licensure, produces measurably better outcomes. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln longitudinal study (Shell et al., 2015) found that teens without formal driver's ed were 75% more likely to receive a traffic ticket and 24% more likely to be in an injury or fatal crash in their first year of driving. Of the 10 states with the highest teen driver fatality rates, two have no driver's education requirement at all (Mississippi and Tennessee), and several others have minimal or poorly enforced requirements (IIHS; DriversEd.com, 2025).

6. Key Findings

1. Teen driver fatalities increased for the second consecutive year in 2023. With 3,262 people killed in crashes involving a teen driver, the 2023 figure is 5.8% above 2022 and 31.4% above the pre-pandemic 2019 level. The progress made over nearly three decades of GDL rollout is being eroded.
2. Mississippi leads the nation by a dramatic margin, with a teen driver fatality rate of 66.15 per 100,000 licensed teen drivers, more than 13 times the rate of Minnesota. Six of the top 10 worst states are in the South or rural Mountain West, where weak GDL frameworks, rural road environments, and limited driver education infrastructure converge.
3. Speeding, seatbelt non-use, and alcohol are the dominant contributing factors. In 2023, 50% of teen drivers killed were unbuckled, 28% of fatal teen crashes involved speeding, and 32% of fatally injured teen drivers ages 16–19 had positive BACs — all showing year-over-year increases.
4. GDL law strength is the strongest structural predictor of teen driver safety. States with all five IIHS best-practice GDL provisions record fatality rates 30–50% below those with the weakest laws. None of the 10 worst states fully meets the IIHS best-practice standard.
5. Two of the 10 worst states have no driver's education requirement, and several others have minimal frameworks. Professional driver education, when paired with strong GDL requirements rather than used to accelerate licensure, reduces first-year crash rates, violations, and injury involvement.
6. The safest states share a common profile: strong GDL laws, mandatory driver's education, a high density of licensed driving schools, strict distracted driving enforcement, and, in the case of New Jersey, a minimum licensing age of 17 that eliminates all 16-year-old crash exposure entirely.

Works Cited

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