Connecticut Ranked #12 Nationally Among Leaders for Teen Drivers

A recent analysis ranked Connecticut as the 12th best state in the nation for teen drivers.  The analysis, conducted earlier this summer by the financial website WalletHub, ranked the state as #26 in Safety, #27 in economic environment and #6 for driving laws, placing the Connecticut at #12 overall in its review of the states.

New York ranked first, followed by Oregon, New Jersey, West Virginia, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Indiana, and Massachusetts in the analysis.

Obtaining a driver’s license, WalletHub notes, is often seen as a milestone in American culture — a symbol of independence and growing up. However, for thousands of teens each year, this milestone turns into a tragedy. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for individuals aged 16 to 19, a group that also faces the highest crash risk.

Connecticut’s teen driver brochure, available online, points out that motor vehicle crashes are the #1 cause of death for 15-19 year olds, and “crash risk goes up when teens drive with other teens in the car. This risk also increases with the number of passengers, whether siblings, family or friends; in the vehicle.”  Teens have the lowest rate of seatbelt use, the brochure indicates, and “it is against the law for teens to drive distracted as well as use any mobile electronic devices while driving.”

“The best states for teen drivers promote safety through easy access to driving classes, strict laws for bad behavior on the road and well-maintained roads, explained WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

Connecticut provides a video highlighting the state’s teen driving laws, available in English and Spanish.  The state’s online Center for Teen Safe Driving has an array of additional materials, which can be accessed here and here.

Nationally, crashes involving teens between 13 and 19 years old lead to approximately $40.7 billion annually in medical bills and lost productivity. This figure does not account for ongoing expenses like vehicle maintenance, rising insurance premiums, traffic tickets, and other related costs that can accumulate quickly, WalletHub’s analysis points out.

In order to determine the best and worst states for teen drivers, WalletHub analyzed the teen-driving environment in the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Safety, 2) Economic Environment and 3) Driving Laws.  They evaluated those dimensions using 23 relevant metrics, ranging from vehicle miles traveled per capita and traffic violations to the cost of speeding tickets, average gas prices, provision of teens graduated licenses, presence of speeding camera laws and teen driver fatalities.

Data used to create this ranking were collected as of July 29, 2025 from sources including  the U.S. Census Bureau, USDOT - Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Road Information Program, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and American Automobile Association.