Male menaces: Young NY men twice as likely to crash cars as female peers, study shows

New York’s young male drivers are driving up the state’s crash numbers, according to newly released study.

Male drivers aged 16 to 24 were involved in 58,182 crashes across New York in 2024, compared with 35,494 involving female drivers in the same age group.

There were 1,101 fatalities that year, with 253 of them occurring in the Big Apple.

Young male drivers are leading the nation in car accidents and fatalities. G.N.Miller/NYPost

The disparity is part of a wider national trend: Men accounted for 72% of passenger-vehicle driver deaths nationwide in 2024, according to federal crash data.

The data crunchers at New York law firm Levine and Wiss examined federal crash statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and combined them with those from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety from 2020 through 2024 to arrive at Risk Index Scores, which outlined to the traffic safety trends.

They found that the male driver fatality rate was 5.73 per 100,000 people in 2024, compared with 1.51 for women.

A cocktail of risky behaviors — including speeding, drinking, distraction and aggressive driving — may help explain the deadly disparity, according to the study.

Nationally, 39% of male drivers aged 15 to 20 involved in fatal crashes were speeding,

Alcohol also showed a stark divide: 34% of male passenger-vehicle drivers who were killed had blood-alcohol levels of at least 0.08%, compared with 24% of women. On weekends, the figure for men jumped to 43%.

Men also accounted for 73% of distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2024.

The survey combined statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with data from the Institute for Highway Safety to come up with a Risk Index score. Robert Mecea for New York Post

And when tempers flare, male motorists were more likely to report aggressive driving behavior.

A survey cited by the researchers found that 55% of men admitted to road-rage behaviors, compared with 46% of women.

The findings come on the heels of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Speed Week 2 enforcement campaign, which ran from Aug. 3 through Aug. 9, and resulted in cops writing a staggering 58,815 tickets, according to the New York State DMV.

Gov. Kathy Hochul created Speed Weeks 1 and 2 to address highway accidents in the Excelsior state. Kyle Mazza/Shutterstock
The survey revealed some eye-popping findings. Christopher Sadowski

The law firm’s resarchers also found enormous differences between states. Wyoming took first place as the riskiest states for male drivers with a Risk index score of 95.5, New Mexico captured second with 87.0 and Montana took third with 81.8.

Mississippi shifted into fourth (81.0), with Alabama pulling up in fifth place (80.8).

On the opposite side of the street, the safest state for male drivers is Massachusetts with a low Risk Index score of 15.8, New Jersey took second with 18.0, Minnesota was third at 18.4.

Maryland captured fourth (19.5) with New York parking in fifth place (20.1).

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *