It takes a couple of years for the CDC to finalize data for use in graphs like the one below, which is why the graph does not include any 2012 data.
From 1999 to 2011, motor vehicle traffic death rates declined by 49% for males aged 15–19 years, 52% for females aged 15–19 years, 29% for males aged 20–24 years, and 30% for females aged 20–24 years. The reasons for this are many, including improved drivers’ education, state laws aimed at preventing accidents involving teen drivers, state laws raising the legal age for consuming alcohol, state laws banning or restricting cell phone use while driving, and media campaigns designed to discourage drinking and driving and distracted driving.
During 1999–2011, the highest death rates occurred among males aged 20–24 years, followed by males aged 15–19 years, females aged 15–19 years, and females aged 20–24 years. Many families don’t allow their teenage children to ride in a car driven by another teen. Fewer teenage passengers may account, in part, for the death rate among teenage boys being lower than that for males 20–24 years of age.
Some of these deaths were caused by negligent drivers. In these cases, the families have wrongful death claims against the driver and, in some cases, others. For example, if an 18-wheeler hits a child, the truck driver, trucking company and owner of the freight being hauled could all be sued by the parents and other family members for the wrongful death semi truck accident. You can contact Attorney Fred Pritzker and our other wrongful death lawyers for a free consultation here if your son or daughter was in a wrongful death accident.
