Teen driver deaths increase in 2012, but remain near historic
lows A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association
shows that far fewer 16- and 17-year-old drivers are dying now
than 10 years ago; tougher laws, economy play a role. The GHSA,
a nonprofit that represents highway offices in all 50 states,
compiled crash statistics on 16- and 17-year-old drivers from
January to June, the latest data available from each state. In
total, 240 teenagers were killed behind the wheel, a 19 percent
increase from 2011. That's up from 191 in 2010, the lowest in
the past 13 years, but far below the 544 teenagers killed in
2002. Tennessee suffered the most, with 16 teenagers killed,
followed by Louisiana (15), Texas (14), and Alabama, Illinois
and Kentucky (12 each). Indiana and Tennessee had the highest
rises in deaths. Florida and North Carolina saw the greatest
declines in teen driver deaths, and amazingly, Washington saw no
deaths in the first half of 2012 after having six in 2011. But
statistics being what t