In 1998, 5,606 teenagers died of injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes. Of those who died, 86% were passenger vehicle occupants, 6% were pedestrians, 3% were motorcyclists, 2% were bicyclists and 3% were in other kinds of vehicles.

Teenagers represented 10% of the U.S. population in 1998 and accounted for 14% of all motor vehicle-related deaths.

Crash risk is particularly high during the first years teenagers are eligible to drive.

From 1988 through 1997, the annual number of teenagers who died in motor vehicle crashes declined 21%. Annual deaths reached a low of 5,215 in 1992 and have increased slightly since.

In 1998, the death rate for male drivers (21 per 100,000) was more than twice that for female teenaged drivers (10 per 100,000).

In 1997, the economic cost of police-reported crashes (fatal and nonfatal) involving drivers aged 15-20 years was about $32 billion.