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Study: Crashes involving teens cost D.C., Md., Va. $1.5B in '06
WASHINGTON -
Teen crashes cost Virginia, Maryland and D.C. $1.5 billion in 2006, according to a new AAA report, which for the first time looks at the financial impact of car crashes involving younger drivers. The local costs are part of a $34 billion tab for car crashes involving teenagers 17 and under nationally. John Townsend, spokesman for AAA's Mid-Atlantic branch, said his agency thought it was important to show the public that beyond the emotional and physical pain from deaths and injuries, there also is a hefty financial price tag associated with teen recklessness. "The insurance industry has known for years the real cost but most people, because they see crashes in isolation, don't look at it from an economic standpoint," he said. "So it's not only personal losses for families ... but it keeps ricocheting." For the two states and the District, drivers between 15 and 17 years of age were involved in nearly 40,000 crashes in 2006. These crashes claimed the lives of 94 people and injured 16,686 people, according to AAA's analysis. In terms of economic impact, the crashes equated to $1.5 billion, which includes work loss, property damage and quality of life interests. Townsend said one reason the price tag is so high is that teen crashes' effects go well beyond the teen drivers. In fact previous research shows that the majority of fatalities in these cases are people other than the driver. Virginia had the most and costliest teen crashes in 2006, with 23,291 incidents killing 59 people. In Maryland there were 16,135 teen crashes in 2006 resulting in 34 deaths. Over time, teen driving crashes have stayed relatively even. Both states -- and D.C. -- are among a growing contingent that have graduated licensing requirements, in which younger drivers have to follow a series of progressive training steps for getting their license. Based on the AAA study, graduated licensing is said to be one of the prime factors to reduce teen crashes. |