Arkansas – A newly released study for 2025 has placed Arkansas in an unfortunate position on a national list that no state wants to be on. According to recent findings from Zutobi.com, Arkansas ranks fifth in the nation for teen traffic deaths this year. The report sheds light on the continuing dangers young drivers face on the roads and highlights the urgent need for parents, educators, and law enforcement to work together to improve teen driving safety.
The study examined traffic death statistics among teen drivers across the United States, measuring fatalities per 100,000 licensed teen drivers. Arkansas recorded approximately 39.44 teen traffic deaths per 100,000 teen drivers in 2025. The state finds itself behind only four others in this grim ranking: Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arizona. Kentucky led the list with a staggering 114.25 deaths per 100,000 teen drivers, followed by Mississippi at 66.15, Tennessee at 41.34, and Arizona slightly ahead of Arkansas at 39.93.
For those working in law enforcement in Arkansas, these numbers did not come as a surprise. Captain Brad Lann of the Arkansas State Police has seen firsthand the challenges young drivers face on the road. While he acknowledged the high ranking is concerning, he pointed out there’s no one-size-fits-all explanation for why Arkansas ranks so high.
“Monitor their driving. Go back and look, see how fast they’re going, whether they had hard braking, things like that,” Capt. Lann said, emphasizing the importance of parental involvement when it comes to teen drivers. He also highlighted some of the main contributors to teen crashes: speeding, distracted driving, and following too closely.
“You want them to model good behavior. So as a parent, we need to be practicing our safe driving skills and making sure we’re obeying speed limits, allowing enough room between vehicles in front of us—because kids watch that, and they model that behavior,” Lann explained.
For Capt. Lann, the dangers of teen driving aren’t just statistics. They represent real lives and families forever changed by tragedy.
“When we knock on that door, that information we’re about to give them is fixing to change their life forever,” he said. “That’s one of the hardest things I have done in my 20 years—going to knock on somebody’s door and tell them their child is not coming home.”
One factor that might contribute to the high number of fatalities is the absence of a mandatory driver’s education requirement in Arkansas for teens under 18. Unlike some other states, Arkansas allows young drivers to obtain a license through a graduated licensing program without ever stepping foot in a formal driver’s ed classroom. Teens progress from a learner’s permit to an intermediate license and finally to a full license, but the choice to take driver’s education is left up to the individual.
Capt. Lann believes bringing back structured driver’s education would make a difference.
“I remember when I was in high school, we had three weeks of it during the summer,” he said. “One week you’re in class studying, and then the next two weeks you’re out driving with an instructor. Over the years, it’s kind of gone away, but it’s starting to come back.”
In addition to education, Lann stresses the role parents play after a teen earns their license. Encouraging new drivers to get plenty of practice behind the wheel with supervision can help build safer habits.
“This is not just a law enforcement effort—it’s a team effort. It’s parents, educators and the teens. It’s all of us working together to reduce these crashes, and I think if everybody does their part, these numbers will reduce significantly,” he added.
As Arkansas faces these troubling statistics, efforts are underway to better educate young people about road safety before they even start driving. This school year, the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) is launching a new program called Street Smart. Aimed at students in grades 6 through 8, the program will teach early lessons on pedestrian safety, the dangers of speeding, and the importance of paying attention on the road.
Dave Parker with ARDOT explained the program’s goal is to lay the groundwork for safer habits early on.
“The goal is to teach them how to be better passengers, better pedestrians—safer—so that when they do get behind the wheel in eighth grade, you know a lot of those kids are already looking to get their permit,” he said. “By the time they do reach that age of 16 in Arkansas, they are safety-minded.”
ARDOT is also expanding its outreach to teens through media efforts.
“In the last two years, the focus has been our TV ads, digital ads—everything we’re putting out there has been aimed at the age group of 16- to 25-year-olds,” Parker said. “So right in that wheelhouse of teen drivers.”
The Street Smart program is scheduled to begin August 15th, just as a new school year starts. Officials hope this proactive approach will create a cultural shift around road safety for the next generation of Arkansas drivers.
The Zutobi study pulled its data from reliable federal sources, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) crash data tool and the Fatality and Injury Reporting System (FIRST). Previous studies from Zutobi show similar concerns in past years, but Arkansas’ continued appearance near the top of the list highlights the persistent challenges in keeping teen drivers safe.
Ultimately, the message from law enforcement, educators, and transportation officials is clear: reducing teen traffic deaths requires cooperation from everyone involved—parents, teens, schools, and communities working together to promote safety, responsibility, and awareness on the roads.
