It is no secret that when teenagers drive with other teenagers, their chances of getting in a wreck increase, but the previous studies were more than 10 years old, and reflect none of the recent changes in state driving laws. Other teens are a huge distraction to young drivers, this has been known for a long time. The data used for this research was gathered from between 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 when carrying one passenger younger than 21 (and no older passengers), the study found. The risk is double when carrying 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 when a passenger aged 35 or older is in the vehicle decreases 62 percent, the study said.
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.
Between 2000 and 2010, the number of 16- and 17-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes each year 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. And preliminary data for the first six months of 2011 show a small uptick in teen driving deaths, another recent study found.
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