I would like to thank the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) for their work in helping to reduce teen driving fatalities.  I have gathered these statistics from their publication “Analysis of Speeding-Related Fatal Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes.”

I did an original analysis to create Graph 1 using data from the Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS) database. Because the speed at the time of crash is estimated at the scene, the statisticians at NCSA do not use it for any analysis.  Crash speeds in fatal accidents are much higher than the posted speed limit, especially on roads with posted speeds of 55 mph or less.  The average crash speed for these roads is almost 26 mph above the posted speed.  The Speed Demon is the only device available that can distinguish speeding on secondary roads from normal highway driving.

Graph 1 represents 6,132 fatal accidents involving drivers age 15 to 19 during the year 2005. This is the most recent data available.

Source: FARS Database 2005

Graphs 2 and 3 are from the NCSA report.  Graph 2 reinforces my point, most fatalities occur on roads with posted speeds of 55 mph or less.

Graph 3 shows that teens and young adults, especially boys, are at much higher risk of dying in a speed related crash.