ALBANY – In a demographic that is commonly associated with unsafe driving, teens in New York are the safest young drivers in the county.
Sixteen to 19 year-olds have the highest likelihood of getting into a car accident, which is the second leading cause of death in the age group. Teen drivers in New York however were named the best state for teen drivers according to a 2021 study by the personal-finance website WalletHub.
The survey determined not only the safest but also the least expensive states for teen drivers. In 2018, teen drives accounted for $4.8 million in medical expenses and loss of work.
The study used 23 metrics to compare states which included the number of teen driver fatalities, average cost of car repairs and the presence of impaired-driving laws.
New York was found to have the highest safety score and top rating for number of safe driving laws.
Reasons contributing to the high ranking were the presence of occupant-protection laws, highest presence of distracted-driving/ texting-while-driving laws, highest presence of impaired-driving laws and the highest number of teen driver’s graduated licensing program provisions.
Oregon and Connecticut were ranked as the next safest states, while Wyoming, Idaho and South Dakota were ranked as the last safe.
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