Most Teen Deaths Are Accidental

A new report issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that nearly half of all teenage deaths can be attributed to accidents, and most of those deaths are the result of automobile accidents. The report says that boys are more likely to die from accidents than girls are, and the discrepancies between statistics between genders increases as men get older. The other most prevalent causes of death among young people include homicide, cancer, suicide, and heart disease.

According to Dr. Louis Lee, director of the Pediatric Injury Prevention Program at Children's Hospital in Boston, accidents are actually the leading cause of death among all children of all ages. Automobile crashes are responsible for 30% more deaths than the most prevalent non-trauma causes together. Lee is also an assistant professor of pediatrics for Harvard Medical School. She says that there are many things that keep teenagers from focusing on their driving and reaction times, especially when they are just learning to drive. Whether they are using alcohol, talking on cell phones, not wearing a seat belt, or just talking to someone else in the car, they are not as tuned into their driving as they should be. Lee says that they don't realize they are in an unsafe situation, and that's a huge problem for young drivers.

ER physician Dr. Leigh Vinocur ways that teenagers shouldn't be lost to driving accidents. "Nowadays with vaccines, we don't see kids dying from infectious diseases," he says. "A good portion of deaths are preventable...whether they are from fast driving, drinking underage....or the feeling of invincibility that teenagers have."

The CDC report also notes differences among ethnic groups. Black teenagers are 37% more likely to die than white teenagers, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic, and most of the time the reason is homicide. Being exposed to gun violence is much more prevalent in neighborhoods with a lower socioeconomic status, and because of that, the risk of dying from being shot is higher in those areas. Firearms are responsible for in excess of 80% of homicides among teenagers age 12 to 19. For black teens, that number is 89%.

Experts say that many of these death statistics are totally preventable. They urge parents to maintain an open line of communication with teenagers, and be sure to discuss the importance of driving safely, adhering to the posted speed limit, not using drugs or alcohol while driving, and not getting in a car with a driver who has been using drugs or drinking. Many parents and experts believe that the use of cell phones and texting while driving should be outlawed. Teenage mortality is considered by many to be an important public health issue, since most of those deaths are caused by accidents, homicides, or suicides. And such causes of death are preventable.