PROTECT THE YOUTH

Texas is the 2nd most dangerous state for young drivers, according to new report

Driving in Texas doesn't come without danger.

Make sure those seatbelts are fastened, folks. A new analysis has revealed just how dangerous driving can be for the younger generation in Texas.

Young drivers have made up 19 percent of all driver fatalities in the state between 2017 and 2021, according to the study commissioned by personal injury lawyer John Fitch. A full 2,292 young driver fatalities were recorded out of a total number of 12,028, which is the highest number in the nation.

Certain Texas highways have been named some of the most dangerous in the country, and Houston is on another list of the most dangerous cities for drivers in general.

Rhode Island took the No. 1 spot for the most dangerous state for young drivers, with 19.81 percent of driver fatalities being between 16 and 24-years-old. There were 41 young driver deaths out of a total 207 in Rhode Island between 2017 and 2021.

Rounding out the top five most dangerous states for young drivers is Utah (No. 3) with 163 young driver deaths out of a total 860 between the same five year period; California (No. 4) with 1,993 young driver deaths out of 10,578; and Delaware (No. 5) with 68 out of 364 fatalities being young drivers.

Fitch shared his thoughts on the study's findings, calling the trend a "concerning pattern of young road user involvement in fatal road accidents."

"While it is highly unlikely that we will ever eliminate all driver fatalities, it is important that we identify what certain states are doing differently that could be accounting for these varying rates of young driver deaths," Fitch said. "If larger states, such as Texas, achieved similar fatality rates to West Virginia, which ranked bottom, there would have been 805 fewer young driver deaths in the state over the same five-year period, which is quite a staggering statistic."

The top 10 most dangerous states for young drivers are:

No. 1 – Rhode Island
No. 2 – Texas
No. 3 – Utah
No. 4 – California
No. 5 – Delaware
No. 6 – Nebraska
No. 7 – Massachusetts
No. 8 – Idaho
No. 9 – Montana
No. 10 – Maryland

The bottom five states on the list, making them the safest for young drivers, are Minnesota (No. 46), Alaska (No. 47), Maine (No. 48), Oregon (No. 49), and West Virginia (No. 50). The young driver fatality rates are all under 13.6 percent, with West Virginia's at 12.36 percent.

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