Research underway to understand high rate of fatal teen driver crashes in Ky., and to find solutions
Kentucky Health News
Prompted by data that shows Kentucky’s young drivers are involved in fatal automobile crashes that are much higher than the national average, researchers at the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Transportation Center are collaborating to better understand why, with the goal of developing new strategies to improve driving safety.
“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) “Traffic Safety Facts: Young Drivers,” showed Kentucky had the highest rate of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes in the nation. The number was far above the national average and higher than that of the surrounding states. According to the report, Kentucky’s young driver fatal crash involvement rate was 138.36 (per 100,000 licensed drivers) in 2023 and 104.15 in 2022, compared to the national average of 42.40 in 2023,” according to a UK College of Public Health press release.
“It didn’t make sense that Kentucky would be so much higher than other states,” Caitlin Northcutt, director of the UK DRIVE Lab, said in the release. “We wanted to understand what was happening and how we could help.”
According to the release, fatal teen driver crashes are a complex, multi-layered problem that requires expertise from an interdisciplinary team.
“Rarely does a severe crash result from a single causal factor,” Benjamin Blandford, a senior research scientist at the Kentucky Transportation Center, said. “Multiple and overlapping factors generally lead to severe crashes.”
For example, he said “57% of teen driver crashes involve roadway departure, and many also include aggressive or distracted driving,” according to the release.
Already, the research team has shared early analysis of Kentucky teen driver crash patterns with the state during the development of the 2025-2029 Kentucky Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSP).
The researchers also analyzed the national and state numbers and found that while the national report had overestimated Kentucky’s fatal crash rate for young drivers, the state’s rate remained far higher than the national average.
“Teen drivers begin learning at a much earlier age now,” Ryan Fisher, director of the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, said in the release. “Our goal is to prevent teen crashes and fatalities, and these findings will help target prevention efforts across the state.”
Northcutt, a developmental psychologist and injury prevention researcher with the College of Public Health, said one of the challenges is that teen drivers are still developing the cognitive skills needed for safe driving. This includes attention management, impulse control and decision-making under pressure.
Further, the release says: “In Kentucky, these developmental challenges are intensified by the fact that the state does not require formal driver education. As a result, many teens enter the licensing process with fewer structured opportunities to practice navigating nighttime driving, rural roads, severe weather and high‑speed interstates. Northcutt explained that without consistent, guided exposure to these conditions, teens may encounter them for the first time when they are already driving independently, increasing the likelihood of high-risk situations.”
This work is part of an ongoing applied research project titled “An Investigation of Teen Driver‑Involved Crashes in Kentucky (2020–2024).”