A new study has revealed that millennials are the most at-risk group of drivers on the roads.

Personal injury law specialists John Foy and Associates analyzed 2022 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to find the number of drivers involved in crashes by different age groups. They then ranked each generation in terms of drivers involved in crashes per 1 million population.

According to the study, millennials (defined as being born between 1981 and 1996) are the most dangerous generation on the roads, with a rate of 50,291 drivers in crashes per 1 million population. That works out to a troubling 30% of all crashes. Without accounting for population, there were 3,423,414 millennial drivers involved in crashes throughout 2022, with 18,816 of those being fatal. Among millennials, 27-year-olds were found to have the highest number of drivers involved in crashes, at 247,934 drivers — 7.24% of all crashes involving a millennial driver.

Generation Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 — ranks second with a rate of 38,221 drivers in crashes per million population, just under a quarter (23%) of all crashes. Nineteen-year-olds were the age most at-risk within Gen Z.

Generation X — those born between 1965 and 1980 — placed third on the list, with 36,799 drivers in crashes per million population, accounting for 22% of all crashes. Forty-one-year-olds were the most at-risk within Gen X.

In fourth place are Baby Boomers — those born 1946 to 1980 — with 22,509 drivers in crashes per million population. Fifty-nine-year-olds were most likely to be involved in a crash, accounting for 8% of Baby Boomer driver crashes.

The Silent Generation, defined as those born between 1928 and 1945, takes the final place on the list, with the lowest rate of crashes of any generation. This group recorded 13,450 drivers in crashes per million population, with just 2,681 of those proving to be fatal. Seventy-seven-year-olds were the age found to be most at-risk.

Despite not legally being able to drive, there were still 3,552 crashes involving minors under the age of 14, with 43 of those being fatal.

The single highest at-risk age across every generation was found to be 19-year-olds, with a staggering 299,376 in crashes, and a worrying 1,215 fatalities.

“The findings, unfortunately, show a clear trend, with younger drivers far more at risk on the roads than older drivers,” said John Foy, of John Foy and Associates. “It’s interesting to note the higher incidence of crashes among Millennials, followed by Generation Z and Generation X, while Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation exhibit relatively lower rates. These findings underscore the importance of understanding generational differences in driving behavior and the need for tailored interventions to address road safety concerns effectively.”