Teen Passengers Spell Danger for Novice Drivers

New study also shows much lower risk with an adult passenger

A teen driver's risk of dying in an accident increases dramatically when there are other teens in the car, says a new study by AAA -- but that risk plummets when there's an adult in the vehicle.

Researchers have long known that the presence of other teens is distracting to novice drivers, but most previous studies on the issue are more than a decade old, and don't reflect changes in state driving laws that began in the mid-1990s.

The study from AAA's Foundation for Traffic Safety, which was released Tuesday, used government data on teen crashes from 2007 to 2010.

Compared to driving with no passengers, a 16- or 17-year-old driver's risk of death per mile driven increases 44 percent with one passenger younger than 21 (and no older passengers), the study found.

The risk doubles when the teen has two passengers younger than 21, and quadruples when carrying three or more passengers that age.

Conversely, the risk of a teen driver dying in an accident decreases 62 percent with an adult passenger age 35 or older.

Like cell phones, the presence of other teens can be extremely distracting to young drivers, said Jackie Gillan, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

During the 2000s, the number of young drivers involved in fatal crashes fell by more than half.

Graduated licensing laws -- as well as greater seat belt use, better safety equipment in cars, and anti-drunk-driving campaigns -- have been credited for the decrease.

But 40 percent of the 2,191 younger teen drivers killed during those years had at least one passenger under 21 -- and no older passengers -- in the vehicle, the study said.

Preliminary data for the first six months of 2011 show a small uptick in teen driving deaths, another recent study found.

Just because states have graduated licensing laws "doesn't means everyone is obeying them," said Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety offices.

"Graduated licensing laws are really good, but we rely on the parents to be the ones enforcing them," Adkins said.

Police can cite teen drivers for violating license restrictions if they pull them over for other reasons, but it's difficult for officers to stop drivers with teen passengers just because they look young, he said.

AAA released the study in conjunction with a rally in the District to kick off Global Youth Traffic Safety Month. Summer is the deadliest time of year for teen drivers and their passengers. An average of 422 teens die monthly in traffic crashes during summer compared to an average of 363 teen deaths during the non-summer months.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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