WASHINGTON, March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to raise
awareness for teen driver safety, U.S. News Media Group today
published its first ranking of the Best States for Teen
Drivers, available online at www.usnews.com/teendrivers and
also featured in the April issue of U.S. News & World
Report magazine.
The Best States for Teen Drivers, presented by Allstate
Insurance Company, analyzes state driving laws and road conditions
to identify how much states are doing to make their roads safer. In
producing the rankings, U.S. News researched comprehensive
government statistics on teen driving as well as a range of factors
specifically affecting young drivers, making the ranking an
essential resource for families with teenage drivers.
The Best States for Teen Drivers, which scores all 50 states and
the District of Columbia, is led
by the following top 10 states:
- District of Columbia
- California
- Colorado
- Maryland
- Illinois
- New Jersey
- Oregon
- Minnesota
- Utah
- Washington
*The full state rankings are available at
www.usnews.com/teendrivers.
"Car crashes are the leading cause of death among teens today,"
said U.S. News Editor Brian
Kelly. "By compiling the most critical information on
driving safety, the Best States for Teen Drivers can raise
awareness among families and help them address safety concerns with
their teenage drivers."
To determine the Best States, U.S. News examined 11 indicators
that affect teen driving safety. Five of the variables used in the
rankings were based on U.S. government driving, accident, and road
quality statistics, while the other six variables used independent
ratings of each state's driving and safety laws from the Advocates
for Highway and Auto Safety and the Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety.
A sampling of the ranking variables include: safety belt, teen
driving, DUI/DWI, distracted driving, and motorcycle helmet laws,
as well as individual state statistics such as ratings of road
conditions, average vehicle miles traveled per capita, and average
percent of teens in each state with driver's licenses.
According to a recent Allstate Foundation study:
- 82% of driving teens claim to use cell phones while driving,
and 49% admit to being extremely distracted by texting and instant
messaging while driving
- 61% of teens worry about getting into a car crash
- 65% of teens think of themselves as a good driver who pays
attention
- Parents remain #1 as driving influencers and advisors (81% of
respondents said parents have the most influence on their
driving)
For more information about the Best States for Teen Drivers,
please visit www.usnews.com/teendrivers. For tools on how to start
the safe driving conversation with your teen, visit
www.allstate.com/teen.
About the U.S. News Media Group
The U.S. News Media Group is a multi-platform digital
publisher of news and analysis, which includes the monthly U.S.
News & World Report magazine, the digital-only U.S. News
Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and
www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Money &
Business, Education, and Public Service/Opinion, the U.S. News
Media Group has earned a reputation as the leading provider of
service news and information that improves the quality of life of
its readers. The U.S. News Media Group's signature franchises
include its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its
"America's Best" series of consumer guides that include
rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, health plans,
and more.
About the Allstate Corporation
The Allstate Corporation (NYSE: ALL) is the nation's largest
publicly held personal lines insurer. Widely known through the
"You're In Good Hands With Allstate®" slogan, Allstate is
reinventing protection and retirement to help more than 17 million
households insure what they have today and better prepare for
tomorrow. Consumers access Allstate insurance products and services
through Allstate agencies, independent agencies, and Allstate
exclusive financial representatives in the U.S. and Canada, as well as via www.allstate.com/ and
1-800 Allstate®.
SOURCE U.S. News Media Group