Are young drivers reckless? Does more experience – and older age – make a safer driver?
People generally have a lot of assumptions about age and how it correlates to driving safety. Many share opinions on teenage drivers, elderly drivers – and virtually every other age group and demographic in between.
But what does the data say? According the Texas Department of Transportation, here are the numbers of crashes that occurred by age, in 2015:
1. Age 21: 27,821
2. Age 20: 27,802
3. Age 19: 27,693
4. Age 23: 27,538
5. Age 22: 27,420
6. Age 24: 26,330
7. Age 25: 25,470
8. Age 18: 25,427
9. Age 26: 23,907
10. Age 27: 22,782
What does this data tell us? Younger drivers get into more car crashes than older drivers. The data also shows that the number of crashes decreases as age goes up. Let’s take a look at crash statistics where drivers are separated by 10 years:
· Age 20: 27,802
· Age 30: 20,567
· Age 40: 15,404
· Age 50: 12,820
· Age 60: 9,090
· Age 70: 3,896
· Age 80: 1,607
· Age 90: 280
It is important to note that there are other factors that can account for a decrease in accidents – age isn’t the only factor. Plus, there simply aren’t as many 80-year-old drivers on the road as 20-year-old drivers.
Perhaps the most shocking statistic of all is that there were a total of 949,090 car accidents in Texas in 2015. All drivers, regardless of age, have a responsibility to drive in a safe and responsible manner. When they don’t, the results can be devastating.
Free consultation: Do you wish to speak to a personal injury lawyer about your legal options after a car crash? Call the law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner at 800-594-4884 or (713) 222-7211.
*This data includes drivers in all types of car crashes in Texas: Fatal crashes, serious injury crashes, minor injury crashes, non-injury crashes, and crashes in which the injury is unknown.