In Missouri and across the United States, teen drivers are on the road. This is a natural and inevitable occurrence. Every driver needs to start somewhere and most begin their life on the road in their teen years. While it is an exciting time and many teens are vigilant and cautious about their new responsibilities, there are still dangers due to inexperience. When adding in other factors like negligence, recklessness, texting and driving and driving under the influence, teens are one of the riskiest demographics of drivers.

Researchers examine teen behaviors and their auto accident rate and come to conclusions to try and improve safety. One new study says that Missouri is one of the lowest ranked states when it comes to teen driving. The study by WalletHub says that Missouri, overall, came in 48th out of 50 states. There were three main areas that WalletHub used to come to its conclusions: safety, obeying the law and financial. Missouri was third from the bottom in two of them.

Missouri came in 48th for both safety and driving laws. With safety, the researchers assessed how many fatalities there were in an auto accident, how often drivers were operating their vehicles after drinking alcohol and if they were using their cellphones behind the wheel. For driving laws, it assessed state laws for DUI or driving while distracted and how lenient the state was in treating drivers who were facing DUI charges. Finally, financial factors referred to expenses such as traffic citations, insurance, car repair and gas. Missouri came in a respectable 16th in that category.

An auto accident can cause dramatic changes in a person’s life and the life of his or her family. Medical costs, lost income, the need for extensive care and more will be the catalyst to a new and unexpected life. If there is a fatality, the family must try to come to grips with the unexpected death, pay for a funeral and navigate their lives without a loved one. If the accident was caused by a teen driver, it is imperative to seek legal help to have a crash reconstruction and accrue evidence to help with a legal filing. Contacting a law firm with experience in assisting those impacted by motor vehicle accidents is essential.