Teenagers are often stereotyped as being the worst drivers on the road. People will describe them as being reckless and distracted while driving, because of their rambunctious attitude and delusions of living forever. But, is there a little fact to this notion that teenagers are horrible drivers?

Let’s look at the statistics and data to find out.

We’ve done extensive research on the subject and collected the finding to show you the top California teenage driving statistics. Are teenagers really learning when they enroll in a driver education course? Let’s look at the data.

Teenager Driving Death Toll

Teenagers are still learning the mechanics of driving vehicles. That combined with their desire to impress and woo their friends can be a deadline concoction. According to the CDC, in 2015, the U.S. death toll for teens in motor accidents was roughly 235,845.

That many driving-related deaths is the equivalent to 6 fatalities a day. Between the inability to recognize hazardous situations, distracted driving, and influence from friends, driving as a teenager could be a matter of life and death.

In 2008, the amount of California teen driver fatalities was the 2nd highest in the state. Coming in about 219 total deaths, the only state higher was the amount of deaths in Texas. Those were just the vehicle drivers, too.

The California DMV reported that, when counting vehicle passengers and non-occupants, the total teenager death total was 593. This goes to show that when teenagers engage in reckless driving, they risk their life and the lives others on the road as well.

Teenager Driving Injuries

When it comes to being injured as a teenage driver, the number is even higher. Drivers between the ages of 16 to 19 only accounted for 7% of the total U.S. population. Yet, they were responsible for 11% of the total vehicle incidents and injuries in 2015. This accumulates to be roughly $10 million in damages across the country.

In California, roughly 61.4% of drivers, 16 years old, were involved in some form of motor vehicle incident. The DMV reported that the crash rate for all drivers, between the ages of 16 and 19, was 2.9 times higher than the crash rate for drivers 20 or more years older. If teenagers are doing this bad in wrecks, how are they doing with getting ticketed?

Teenager Ticket Trouble

Teenagers can be risky drivers. They have a hard time understanding the behaviors that make a great, defensive driver. This means they tend to be sporadically out of control when it comes to breaking the rules of the road.

According to the DMV, 52.7% of teenagers were ticketed for speeding violations in 2008. That means half of the drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 were fined for some form of speeding violation. The citation rate for drivers between the age of 16 and 19 were 2.1 times higher than the rest of the population.

The second highest traffic violation that teenagers committed was proper signaling and turning. Unable to communicate on the road was a hard suit for teenagers. But that’s probably because they were busy communicating with their phones.

Safe Teen Driving

These statistics shows that they can be extremely reckless. So, what does it take for teens to drive defensively on the roads? When driving it’s easy to be distracted by people, phones, and obstructions in the road. Teenagers must remember to not fall for that bottlenecking trap. Being safe behind the wheel is all about being responsible.

Patients comes with experience. As people age, they are involved in less incidents, according to the data. When it comes to driving, teenagers might need to do some growing up.