Tuesday, May 15, 2012
(Graphic: t-driver.com)
Teenaged drivers + teenaged passengers = deadly combination.
That’s the conclusion of a new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety after studying recent data on automobile crashes.
In cases where a teen driver was accompanied by someone younger than 21 (and no adult passengers), the risk of a fatal crash jumped 44% (compared to accidents involving teens driving alone).
When two passengers under 21 were present in a car driven by a teen, the risk of fatality doubled.
Having three or more passengers younger than 21 resulted in a quadrupling of a teen driver’s risk of being killed in a crash.
On the other hand, adding a single adult (35 and older) to a car resulted in a 62% decrease that a 16- or 17-year-old driver might die in an auto accident.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
To Learn More:
Teen Driver Risk in Relation to Age and Number of Passengers (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety) (pdf)
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