The number of traffic deaths in the state among 16- and 17-year-olds increased 55 percent when compared with 2010, according to preliminary data in a study by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association examining the first half of 2011, the latest time frame for which traffic crash data is available nationally.
N.C. Highway Patrol statistics for drivers ages 14-19 show that for all of 2011, there were 54 teen driver fatalities statewide, up 8 percent from 2010. In WNC, deaths involving drivers 19 and younger decreased from nine to eight in 2011.
