Oregon Ranked Among Top States for Teen Drivers

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Saturday, December 27, 2014

Emily Goldman, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Oregon is ranked #4 in a new study perfomed by WalletHub measuring the best and worst states for teen drivers.

In the study, WalletHub used 16 different metrics to assign individual state rankings in three categories – 1) safety conditions, 2) economic environment (cost of speeding tickets, car insurance, repairs, etc.), and 3) driving laws – as well as final, overall ranking. The study set out to take into account both the vulnerabilty of teenage drivers on the road and the economic liability of young, inexperienced drivers.

The study also includes the findings for several other elements, such as the percentage of teens with driver’s licenses, average cost of car repairs, and the number of teen driver fatalities.

The top five states for teen drivers, in addition to Oregon, are New York, Hawaii, Illinois, and Rhode Island. The five worst states include Wyoming, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Mississippi, and South Dakota.

Interestingly, while Oregon ranked high on state safety conditions and driving laws, coming in at #3 in both categories, the state fell in the bottom half for economic environment at #27.

According to WalletHub, an average of 260 teens are killed in car accidents each month.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that teenagers between the ages of 16 - 19 have the highest motor vehicle crash rate in the country and are the leading cause of death for that age group. Teen car crashes are also costly, accounting for about 30 percent of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries.

WalletHub’s aim in performing this study is to “equip parents and other concerned adults with facts that will help them safeguard against unforeseeable events when their teens are on the road.”

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