Study: Improperly licensed drivers involved in 20 percent of all fatal crashes

July 12, 2000
Web posted at: 11:08 a.m. EDT (1508 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of every five fatal car crashes in the United States involves a driver who is not properly licensed, a traffic safety group reported Wednesday.

The findings by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety are an analysis of 183,749 fatal crashes between 1993 and 1997. Of the 278,078 drivers involved in those crashes, the vast majority were properly licensed. But among the others:

  •  7.4 percent were driving on an invalid (suspended, revoked or canceled) license.

  • 3.7 percent were unlicensed.

  • 2.7 percent were of unknown license status. (This category primarily represents drivers involved in hit-and-run accidents).

RESOURCES Click here to view Statistics on Fatal Traffic Crashes     MESSAGE BOARD Rules of the road

The study concludes that 20 percent of all fatal crashes involves a driver who falls into one of those three categories.

In addition, about 18 percent of the drivers in the "suspended license" grouping had been convicted of driving while intoxicated during the three years prior to the fatal crash.

Maine was the state with the lowest rate (6.4 percent) of improperly licensed drivers involved in fatal crashes during the five-year study period. New Hampshire was second lowest at 6.9 percent.

At the other end of the scale were: Hawaii (22 percent), California (22.1 percent), Arizona (23 percent), Washington, D.C. (23 percent) and New Mexico (23.7 percent).

Other findings from the report:

  •  A driver with a suspended or revoked license is 3.7 times more likely than a driver with a valid license to be involved in a fatal crash.

  •  An unlicensed driver is 4.9 times more likely than a driver with a valid license to be involved in a fatal crash.

The study, carried out by Lindsay Griffin and Sandra DeLaZerda of Texas A&M University, said attempting to change human behavior may not be the best solution for reducing unlawful driving.

Instead, the report said: "A better solution may be found in vehicle sanctions or modifications that physically impede unlawful driving through vehicle impoundment, electronic driver's licenses or alcohol ignition interlocks ... which require the driver to provide a breath sample every time the individual attempts to start the automobile."

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AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
Unlicensed To Kill(Acrobat Reader required)
"National Highway Traffic Safety Administration"
"Unlicensed to Kill"(Time magazine/June 13, 1994)

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