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WESTWOOD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — According to AAA Northeast, the number of fatalities in teen driver crashes in Mass. reached its highest point in over a decade.
There were 49 people killed in 2022 in crashes involving 16-year-olds to 19-year-olds, the first time since 2008 that there have been more than 40 fatalities. There were also 16,709 crashes in Mass., which is equivalent to one teen-involved crash every 32 minutes.
AAA Northeast Senior Spokesperson Mark Schieldrop said many of these fatalities did not occur on the highway.
“In a lot of cases, particularly in pedestrian fatalities which unfortunately are also on the rise in Massachusetts, a lot of these fatalities are occurring on roads where the speed limit is below 60 mph,” said Schiedrop.
Even though the numbers are concerning, Schieldrop was confident those numbers would decrease if parents educated their teens on the dangers of driving.
“We can get these numbers down right away if folks in teen driver’s lives really stress the importance of just basic safe driving principles,” said Schieldrop.
AAA recommended that parents tell their teens to wear their seatbelts, set limits on passengers, and sign a parent-teen driving agreement.
WBZ's Drew Moholland (@DrewWBZ) reports.
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