The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released a study showing a strong association between the number and age of passengers present in-vehicle and the risk of a teen driver dying in a traffic crash. The report, “Teen Driver Risk in Relation to Age and Number of Passengers,” found that the likelihood of a 16- or 17-year-old driver being killed in a crash, per mile driven, increases with each additional young passenger in the vehicle. Compared to driving with no passengers, a 16- or 17-year-old driver’s fatality risk:
- Increases 44 percent when carrying one passenger younger than 21 (and no older passengers)
- Doubles when carrying two passengers younger than 21 (and no older passengers)
- Quadruples when carrying three or more passengers younger than 21 (and no older passengers)
Conversely, carrying at least one passenger aged 35 or older cuts a teen driver’s risk of death by 62 percent, and risk of involvement in any police-reported crash by 46 percent, highlighting the protective influence that parents and other adults have in the car.
The press release is also available.
http://www.aaafoundation.org/pdf/2012TeenDriverRiskAgePassengers.pdf