Motor-vehicle accidents are the second leading cause of death among the population aged 16 to 19, which also happens to be the age group with the highest risk of crashes. But whether or not a state is a safe place for teen driver goes beyond the individual skill set of that driver.
Personal financial website recently WalletHub compared the 50 states based on 23 key metrics, including the number of teen driver fatalities to the average cost of car repairs to the presence of impaired-driving laws, to determine which states ranked the best for Safety, Economic Environment, and Teen Driving Laws.
So what did WalletHub find? We take a look in this week’s Map Monday:
Best vs. Worst
- Rhode Island is among the states with the fewest teen driver fatalities per 100,000 teens, at 1.10, which is 15.9 times fewer than in Wyoming, the state with the most at 17.45.
- Tennessee has the lowest share of major roads in poor or mediocre condition, 14.00 percent, which is 5.5 times lower than in Rhode Island, the state with the highest at 77.00 percent.
- Hawaii has the lowest premium increase after adding a teen driver to a parent’s auto-insurance policy, 3.00 percent, which is 74.3 times lower than in New Jersey, the state with the highest at 223.00 percent.
- New York has the fewest vehicle miles traveled per capita, 6,335, which is 2.8 times fewer than in Wyoming, the state with the most at 17,569.
Georgia came in at No. 27 – with a total score of 51.33. Georgia ranked 10th for Safety, 45th for Economic Environment, and 23rd for Driving Laws.
| Best States for Teen Drivers | Worst States for Teen Drivers |
| 1. New York | 41. South Carolina |
| 2. Oregon | 42. New Hampshire |
| 3. Connecticut | 43. Arkansas |
| 4. Alaska | 44. Nebraska |
| 5. Massachusetts | 45. Mississippi |
| 6. Michigan | 46. Missouri |
| 7. Minnesota | 47. Montana |
| 8. Texas | 48. South Dakota |
| 9. Maryland | 49. Idaho |
| 10. New Jersey | 50. Wyoming |
You can read the complete report here.
