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Apr 6, 2008 6:48 pm US/Eastern
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Report: Teen Crashes Cost U.S.$30B+ A Year
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
There are new findings that crashes involving teen drivers cost Americans more than $30 billion a year.
The survey done by AAA Mid-Atlantic is the first of its kind. As
Tim Williams reports accidents are only part of the problem.
When testing for a learner's permit or license, no teen driver ever expects to be involved in an accident. Neither do their parents.
"All your life you watch them grow up and take care of them, and all of a sudden you're going to put them in a car by themselves and say alright, go ahead. So we're concerned about that," said Johnny Ely, the father of a teen driver.
Legislators are also concerned. Findings in a first of its kind analysis just released by AAA Mid-Atlantic show crashes involving teen drivers cost American society tens of billions of dollars annually.
"Overall, crashes involving all people come to about $164 billion annual cost to society. But this week we released numbers based upon a survey looking at teen crashes in the ages of 15 to 17-years-old and that total is about $34.4 billion on an annual bases," said Ragina Averella with AAA.
The survey looked at medical expenses and lost work, property damage, quality of life loss and other related costs.
"Auto accidents are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20-year-olds," said Md. Transportation Secretary John Porcari.
Porcari supports, among other things, extending the time for learner's permits to two years instead of one.
"So they can spend more time with a parent or guardian on the road in a controlled situation. The more experience the better," said Porcari.
The AAA study shows that states with stricter driving and licensing laws have fewer incidents involving young drivers.
They say Maryland's laws are moderate, but they would like to see them stricter.
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