An Ohio Department Of Transportation safety analysis shows that young drivers between the ages of 15 and 25 were involved in 39% of all crashed on Ohio’s roadways last year. In 2008, young drivers were behind the wheel in 124,210 crashes, resulting in 388 fatalities.
ODOT’s analysis also shows that the leading factors behind crashes involving young drivers are following too close, failure to yield, and excessive speed. Most crashes occur right after school, with the majority of accidents reported between the hours of 4:00 and 6:00 pm.
Safety messages and increased awareness by young drivers are helping to make Ohio's roads safer. So far, the number of crashes for the first nine months of 2009 has been significantly down from last year. In the first seven months of this year, there were 65,493 crashes reported involving young drivers, down from more than 70,000 the same time period in 2008.
“It’s critical that teens get involved by taking our responsibility as drivers seriously and speaking up when our friends are making poor choices behind the wheel,” said Richard Birt, a student in Ohio and a national SADD student of the year.
