, Fla. — Traffic crashes remain one of the leading causes of death for teenagers in the United States. The numbers here in Florida are raising concerns about the dangers young drivers face.
“Probably like anybody watching this show, you think it’s never going to happen to you, until it does,” Tammy Guido McGee, whose son was killed by a teen driver, said.
She said for many teenagers, getting behind the wheel is a major milestone, but that new freedom comes with serious risks.
The latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports 2,611 people were killed in crashes involving a teen driver nationwide, with more than 170,000 injured.
Here in Florida, the numbers are also alarming.
The Florida Teen Safe Driving Coalition reports that teen drivers were involved in more than 80,000 crashes in 2024. Those crashes resulted in 323 deaths and nearly 1,800 serious injuries.
McGee said that teens driving with too many passengers in the car is the number one cause of crashes for them.
“If you think about it, drivers should be driving and concentrating on driving,” McGee said. “When you have a lot of teenagers in a vehicle, they’re chit chatting and talking and having fun. We want them to have fun, just not in a vehicle.”
Seventeen-year-old Logan Guynn is a young driver who says she not only obeys her passenger limit but also pays attention to how fast she is driving.
“I always try to monitor my speed,” Guynn said. “Now as a driver I feel more safe because I’m really paying attention to these speed limits and know they are there for a reason.”
Safety experts are encouraging parents to lead by example.
They said to set clear expectations, talk with teens about speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving and always wear a seat belt.
Links to driver education resources:
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