10 best and worst states for teen drivers
Jun 16, 2015 | By Caterina Pontoriero, PropertyCasualty360.com
The summer months are when the most newly minted drivers get on the road. Is your teen safe in your home state? Studies have shown that the summer months are when the most newly minted drivers get on the road.
However, according to WalletHub, this teenage rite of passage is becoming a death sentence for thousands of teens each year, with car accidents being the leading cause of death among people aged 16 to 19. On average, 250 teens are killed in car accidents each month of the summer season.
And the financial implications are equally as staggering, with 15- to 24-year-olds racking up nearly one third of all costs resulting from motor vehicle injuries. That's not counting the costs of vehicle maintenance, insurance premiums, traffic citations and other incidents.
With the inpending increase of teen drivers hitting the road this summer, WalletHub analyzed the teen driving environment of the 50 U.S. states across 16 key metrics and ranked them from best to worst.
WalletHub looked at data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, TRIP, CarMD, InsuranceQuotes.com, the Governors Highway Safety Association and WalletHub's own research. Metrics included the number of teen driver fatalities and the average cost of car repairs.
10 best states for teen drivers
10. New Jersey, 9. Rhode Island, 8. Nevada, 7. Connecticut, 6. Illinois, 5. Delaware, 4. Hawaii, 3. Massachusetts, 2. Oregon, 1. New York
10 worst states for teen drivers
10. Idaho, 9. Maine, 8. Mississippi, 7. Oklahoma, 6. Nebraska, 5. Missouri, 4. Wyoming, 3. North Dakota, 2. Montana, 1. South Dakota