We often over estimate risks we face. For example what is more dangerous a home pool or a gun? Stats show pools kill more children then gun accidents, but most will assume guns. How about the greatest risk to teen drivers? Drinking, Drugs, not wearing a seat belt? All are dangerous, but the most dangerous is teenagers driving at night!

The following is an article from Insurance Headlines on the study conducted for teenage drivers.

Driving after dark is the single most-dangerous risk a teenage driver can take and is more likely to result in death than drinking, speeding or disregarding a seat belt, according to a national 10-year study of highway fatalities released Thursday.

The report, conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute, used federal traffic fatality data from 1999 to 2008, a period in which the number of traffic deaths declined nationwide.

Safer cars, safer highways, seat-belt laws and drunken-driving enforcement have been linked to the drop in fatalities — all factors in darkness and daylight alike.

The Texas research indicates that nighttime driving was the No. 1 risk for fatalities among teenage drivers, followed by speed, distractions, failure to wear a seat belt and alcohol use.
Maryland, Virginia and the District have graduated licensing laws that limit driving privileges until teenagers gain experience, as do most states. The laws restrict hours for nighttime driving and the number of passengers that a teen can have in the car.

“If you add one kid in a car [driven by a teenager], you double the risk of crash,” Fette said. “With two kids, you triple it, and with three kids, it goes up by a factor of six.”

End of article.

As you can see night time driving presents many risk to come into play like  fatigue, driving in groups of teens, cell calls, texting, underage drinking, and  inexperience behind the wheel. Its perfect storm of risk that can happen in the night hours.