The number of fatal crashes involving teen drivers statewide fell from nine in 2010 to four in 2011, continuing a downward trend since tougher laws for 16- and 17-year-old drivers were put in place four years ago, according to a study released Tuesday by the state Department of Motor Vehicles.
One teen driver, Jacqueline Brice, a 16-year-old girl from Ridgefield, was killed in 2011, and three others were involved in fatal crashes, according to the report, which used the most recent statistics available from the federal Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
Two teen drivers were killed in crashes in 2010. In 2007, a year before the laws were put in place, seven teen drivers were killed, and in 2004, 11 were killed.
There has been a 34 percent drop in crashes involving teens in Connecticut, compared to a national average drop of 26 percent.
“We are a national leader in teen safe driving, and we will continue to build on our excellent work,” said Melody A. Currency, the DMV commissioner. “This report shows the continued progress we are making thanks to the dedication of parents, teens and so many others around the state who share our goal of making the roads safe for everyone and preventing teen crashes and fatalities.”
The DMV report shows convictions for traffic infractions and for breaking the graduated driver’s licensing laws — which include passenger restrictions, a curfew, and mandatory license
Unlicensed drivers are uninsured drivers. They’re also unsafe drivers. Giving illegal immigrants the chance to earn their driver’s license can increase road safety, cut down on the number of hit-and-runs, and allow a higher degree of accountability to these previously illegal drivers.
A study called “Unlicensed to Kill” by the AAA Foundation originally found that between 1993 and 1997, one in five fatal car crashes involved an unlicensed or improperly licensed driver.
The study was updated in 2003 and again in 2008. According to the study, between 2001 and 2005 an average of 8,030 drivers who were definitely or possibly driving with an invalid license or no license were involved in 7,679 fatal crashes, or 19.9 percent of all fatal crashes. This resulted in the deaths of 8,801 people.
That’s 20.5 percent of all deaths occurring in motor vehicle traffic crashes.
Unlicensed drivers also have a high hit-and-run chance as well. The same study stated that 41.1 percent of all hit-and-run drivers were driving illegally.
When it comes to road safety in relation to this proposed bill, it all comes down to a numbers game: Those who drive without licenses are more prone to getting into accidents, and our sizeable populations of illegal citizens are assumed to represent a percentage of those unlicensed drivers.
Simply put, licensing drivers puts them through a number of tests that determine whether they can safely operate a vehicle.
Granted, the above statistics from the “Unlicensed to Kill” study did not make any sort of connection between the number of fatal crashes involving drivers without licensing and their inability to operate a car. The correlation, simply by sheer numbers, has to be there: Both the Pew Hispanic Center and the Department of Homeland Security estimated that about 2.5 million illegal immigrants lived in California in 2009
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