New Jersey parents of teenage drivers may want to think twice before allowing their teens to drive with other teenagers in their cars. Studies show that another teenager’s presence raises the chance of a teen driver having a fatal crash by quite a bit and that those riding in the car driven by the teenager are not the only ones at risk.
AAA Newsroom reports that when teen drivers have teen passengers and get into fatal car wrecks, the majority of those killed are driving or traveling in cars or trucks not driven by the teenager. Here is a closer look at how teen passengers raise the chances of a teen driver’s car accident proving fatal.
Teenage passengers and their impact on fatality rates
Research shows that when teen drivers carry teenage passengers in their cars and get into accidents, everyone in the wreck faces a 51% higher chance of dying because the teen driver had a teen passenger. The chance of a fatality is 56% higher for people traveling in vehicles not driven by the teen driver with the teen passenger and 17% higher for any cyclists or pedestrians involved in the incident.
Older passengers and their impact on fatality rates
Studies suggest that while younger, teenage passengers may serve as a serious source of distraction for teen drivers, older passengers may help keep teen drivers attentive and focused on the road. When a teen driver gets into a car accident with a passenger who is 35 or older in the car, the odds of a fatality resulting decrease by 8%.
While teen passengers raise the chances of a fatal crash for teen drivers, other factors, including speeding and drinking and driving, are also at play in many teen-involved car accidents.