Commentary: teenage driver fatal crash rate trends: what do they reveal?

Objective: To determine long-term fatal crash rate trends of teenage drivers in the United States, before and after the introduction of graduated driver licensing programs.

Methods: Teenage driver fatal crash involvement rates were calculated for 1990-2011 and referenced to rates for 25- to 59-year-olds.

Results: The results indicated reductions in teen crash rates coincident with the economic downturn in 2008-2009 and reductions at ages 16 and 17 reflecting the introduction graduated driver licensing (GDL) but no effects positive or negative at ages 18 and 19.

Conclusions: The high crash rates at 18 and 19 relative to other ages call for attention, including extending GDL to ages older than 17.