DENVER — Colorado residents between the ages of 15-20 who get behind the wheel are at higher risk than most of the rest of the country of getting involved in a serious crash, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The Centennial State was ranked the 6th most dangerous state for young drivers, NHTSA data analyzed by Safety.com showed.
Safety.com looked at the number of traffic fatalities in 2017 involving young drivers and then factored in the percentage of the state's population that is between the ages of 15-20 to arrive at a ranking, according to a press release from the group.
In Colorado, 15.1% of serious vehicle crashes in 2017 where a fatality occurred involved young drivers, the release read. Young people made up 7.63% of the state's population that year, placing Colorado among the most dangerous for young drivers.
Five other states — (1)Rhode Island, (2)Iowa, (3)New Hampshire, (4)Mississippi, and (5)Missouri — ranked worse for young drivers. The full analysis and ranking of all 50 states can be viewed here.
Of note, the study points out, is that Colorado's high ranking on the list is notwithstanding the state having a later age restriction for full privilege driving (17 years old) than some of the other states on the list.