On the night of July 23, state Sen. Hillman Frazier and his wife were on their way home from a political forum.

It was near Lanier High School in Jackson when the couple encountered a speeding teen driver — with no driver's license and no vehicle insurance — who lost control of her vehicle and veered into Frazier's lane, striking their vehicle.

"I'm so thankful no lives were lost as a result of this accident," Frazier said.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case. According to a recent national survey, Mississippi has one of the highest teen driver fatality rates in the country.

They didn't make it:Clinton teen wanted to save his friend from a fiery wreck

Mississippi ranked second in the nation per capita during a five- year period, according to the survey released last week by ValuePenguin, a New York-based personal finance website that educates consumers on financial decisions.

Mississippi averages three teen deaths per 10,000 licensed drivers who are 19 years old or younger. The state's teen drivers fatality rate from 2013-2017 was almost twice as high as neighboring Southern states, the survey said.

The study also found that young male drivers accounted for the majority of the teen traffic fatality rate nationwide at 72 percent.

ValuePenguin said Mississippi had 167 traffic fatalities involving teen drivers during that period. Kentucky ranked first per capita in teen deaths during the same period.

Capt. Johnny Poulos, spokesman for the Mississippi Highway Patrol, said MHP tries to educate teens and parents about the dangers of not wearing seat belts and texting while driving, which he said are leading causes of teen driver fatalities.

Some progress has been made, but still too many young drivers are dying in vehicle crashes, Poulos said, with roughly 60 teen drivers dying annually in vehicle crashes over the last three years in the state.

"That's a lot," Poulos said.

What to know about insurance:Teens don’t want to drive, but it costs a lot when they do

So far this year, 30 drivers age 15 to 20 have died on Mississippi roads, Mississippi Highway Patrol figures show.

Graduated license for teens

The Mississippi Legislature has passed laws against texting and for mandatory seat belt use in the past five years.

Frazier said Monday in a statement to the Clarion Ledger, however, that it might be time to reexamine state law as it applies to licenses for teens.

"We made some changes to the graduated license for teens but we might need to go further. A lot depends on the parents also. In our case the teen had no license or insurance. The car was registered in her father’s name."

Frazier said he and his wife were banged up in the crash as was the teen. All three went to the hospital.

Mississippi's high rate of teen driver fatalities could be partially due to the licensing laws for young drivers, said ValuePenguin spokeswoman Divya Sangam. "Teens in the state can get their learners' permit at age 15 and their license at age 16 — whereas in the state with the lowest teen driver fatality rate (New Jersey), drivers can’t get their permit until age 16 and their license until age 17."

Current Mississippi law has a three-stage licensing system beginning at age 15 for learner’s permit, age 16 for the intermediate stage, and age 16 years and 6 months for full licensure.

The law has a mandatory 12-month holding period for the learner’s permit stage. It prohibits unsupervised nighttime driving between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. (Sunday through Thursday ) and between 11:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. (Friday and Saturday) during the intermediate stage.

Earlier this year, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, which rates states on teen driving laws, suggested the following changes to improve Mississippi’s Graduated Driver Licensing law:

Require age 16 for entry into the learner’s permit stage.

Extend all restrictions on teen drivers through age 17.

Add a passenger restriction prohibiting more than one non-familial passenger under the age of 21 unless a licensed driver over the age of 21 is in the vehicle, for the entire intermediate stage through age 17.

Add a prohibition on non-emergency use of hand-held and hands-free cellphones during the learner’s permit and intermediate stages.

Require nighttime driving restrictions for teen drivers.

Require 30-50 hours of supervised driving during the learner’s permit stage.

Teen driver fatalities: Top 5 states

Kentucky

Mississippi

North Carolina

Montana

West Virginia

Source: ValuePenguin survey, 2103-2017

Contact Jimmie E. Gates at 601-961-7212 or jgates@gannett.com. Follow @jgatesnews on Twitter.

Hangout spot:New Ridgeland smoothie bar gives teens option