Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, but the way in which states and parents regulate teen behavior can have a huge impact.
A new analysis by CarInsurance.com found safe driving environments for teens vary greatly by state, with Maryland and New York ranking among the safest.
By contrast, Montana and North Dakota have the most dangerous driving environments for teens.
The safest states for teen drivers are:
- Maryland
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
The most dangerous states for teen drivers are:
- Montana
- North Dakota
- Kansas
- Wyoming
- Alabama
This is the second year that CarInsurance.com performed the analysis. Maryland and Massachusetts are the only states from last year’s top three to make the top three this year. Massachusetts and Alaska were first and third, respectively, last year.
Montana and North Dakota are again the bottom two states this year. Last year, Louisiana joined them as third from the bottom.
To identify the best and worst states for teen drivers, CarInsurance.com analyzed five teen-driving metrics:
- Number of teen driver fatalities per 100,000 population
- Effectiveness of graduated driving license (GDL) components
- Teen drinking and driving rates
- Teen emailing/texting and driving rates
- Average annual insurance costs for teen drivers
What Moved the Needle
After finishing second last year, Maryland topped the list of the safest states for teen drivers.
The state had a low number of teen-related fatal accidents in 2015 (.3 per 100,000 residents) and has some of the strongest GDL laws in the country, according to CarInsurance.com.
Last year’s safest state – Massachusetts – dropped to fifth place this year. The Bay State has one of the lowest teen-related fatal accident rates and strong GDL laws, which helped it to edge out California and Virginia for the No. 5 rank.
On the other side, Montana and North Dakota remained in the bottom two spots.
Both states had a high per-capita number of fatal accidents involving teens, lack strong GDL provisions and experienced poor teen survey results for drinking while driving and texting while driving, according to CarInsurance.com.
To get complete rankings, see how states fared on individual metrics and to read the methodology, visit CarInsurance.com.
