Road crashes continue to be leading cause of death among teenagers. The statistics for motor vehicle crashes and impairment-related crashes among young drivers are alarming.
- Young people have the highest rates of traffic death and injury per capita among all age groups and the highest death rate per kilometer driven among all drivers under 75 years of age. More 19-year-olds die or are seriously injured than any other age group.
- Road and other crash deaths were amongst the leading causes of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years in 2022. Based on various statistics and reports, we estimate more than half of those crash deaths involved alcohol and/or drugs.
- 16 – 25 year olds made up nearly 13% of the population in 2016, but represented nearly 27% of the crash deaths involving alcohol. In 2017, nearly 25% of 16 – 19 year olds and almost 45% of 20 – 25 year olds, who died within 30 days of a motor vehicle collision in Canada where alcohol use was known, were killed in an alcohol-related crash.
- Almost 45% of fatally injured drivers aged 16 – 19 tested positive for drugs between 2017 and 2021. This number was even higher amongst drivers aged 20 – 34, with almost two-thirds (61.1%) of fatally injured drivers in this age bracket testing positive for drugs during this time period.
For more statistics and related links about Youth and Impaired driving see this link.