Youth and traffic safety: the effects of driving age, experience, and education

This paper examines the effect of driving age, driving experience, and mandatory driver's education on traffic fatalities of youth. Data are examined for 47 states, nine years and for ages 15-17. It is found that the age of drivers is an important determinant of fatalities, and that the propensity toward fatalities is greater at younger ages. This age effect is not offset to any major degree by the lack of experience of new drivers at later ages.