Rates way up on teen auto deaths

Parents must set rules, AAA says

Forty-nine people died in crashes involving teen drivers in Massachusetts last year, the highest tally in the state in a decade and a half, according to AAA Northeast.

In a statement, AAA said the 2022 death toll for crashes involving drivers aged 16 to 19 was the first time the grim tally had eclipsed 40 in more than a decade, and the highest total since 56 people were killed in such crashes in 2008.

Last year, AAA said, 16,709 teen drivers were involved in crashes on Mass. roads, equal to one crash every 32 minutes.

The top five contributors were driver inattention or distraction, a factor in 2,590 crashes; failure to yield to right-ofway, which led to 1,651; following too closely, which caused 1,457; speeding, tied to 932; and failure to stay in the proper lane or running off road, which led to 617, according to AAA.

The company advises adults to talk to their teens about driving, set passenger limits to minimize distraction, and sign a parent-teen driving agreement laying out the “ground rules” for teens behind the wheel.

Adults should also wear seatbelts, AAA says, since teens model parent behavior and seatbelts are a vital tool for protecting people in the event of a crash.

The company said more than half of teen drivers or passengers killed in the state last year weren’t wearing seatbelts.

“Teen driver crashes affect everybody on the road,” said AAA Northeast spokesperson Mark Schieldrop in a statement. “Parents and caregivers play a critical role in making sure young drivers learn in a safe environment.”

Among the teen deaths last year were three that occurred in horrifying succession: On Feb. 12, an 18-year-old died after crashing into a guardrail in Dover. On March 18, another 18year-old was killed after driving off a causeway in Marblehead. A day later, a 16-year-old driver crashed into a tree in Marshfield, killing a 17-year-old passenger.

After firearms, motor vehicle collisions are the second leading cause of death for US teens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The AAA statement came one day after the Healey administration announced $5.4 million in grants to help municipalities improve road safety.