COLUMBUS – More than 30 percent of all traffic crashes in the state involved younger drivers, especially boys and young men, according to a study by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
In 2018 and 2019 driver- between the ages of 15 and 24 were involved in 186,055 crashes, resulting in 382 deaths and 52,597 injuries, the patrol reported.
Male teenage drivers were 54 percent more likely than their female counterparts to be at-fault in crashes and were blamed for 68 percent of the fatal accidents in the state during the two-year period.
In central Ohio, the patrol says failure to yield was the leading cause of crashes involving a youthful driver 19 percent of the time and impaired driving was the leading cause of fatal crashes involving a youthful driver, accounting for half of them.
“Poor decisions while driving can stay with young drivers for the rest of their lives That is why responsibility, awareness and safety are so important for our youngest drivers,” said Lt. Michael Akers, commander of the patrol’s Columbus post.
The leading causes of crashes involving young drivers in Ohio were: following too closely, failure to yield, running a red light or not stopping at a stop sign, speeding, driving left of center and driving off the road.