Skip to main content

Study highlights risks of US teenage drivers carrying other teens

A new study carried out in the US reveals that teenaged drivers taking other teenagers as passengers have a higher fatality risk. The study used national fatality statistics data and was carried out by the American Automobile Association's Foundation for Traffic Safety. It revealed that teenagers sharing a ride with other teenagers have a higher chance of getting killed in a car crash depending on the number of passengers in the car.
May 14, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A new study carried out in the US reveals that teenaged drivers taking other teenagers as passengers have a higher fatality risk. The study used national fatality statistics data and was carried out by the 5286 American Automobile Association's Foundation for Traffic Safety. It revealed that teenagers sharing a ride with other teenagers have a higher chance of getting killed in a car crash depending on the number of passengers in the car. If a teenage passenger hitches a ride with a 16- of 17-year-old driver, the chances of either getting killed in a crash rises by nearly 50%. The risk will increase by a further two times if two teenage passengers hitch a ride with the same driver. If three or more teenage passengers hitch a ride with the same driver, the chances of them getting killed in a crash increases by a factor of four times. The study shows the increased risks of driving with other teenagers in the car for the first time in 10 years.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Latin America road safety plan proposed
    June 14, 2019
    A new report suggests key strategies to cut road deaths and injuries in Latin America. The report was commissioned by Bloomberg Philanthropies and shows that more than 25,000 Latin American lives could be saved and over 170,000 serious injuries prevented by 2030 if United Nations (UN) vehicle safety regulations were applied by four key countries in the region—Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil. The report was prepared by the UK-based Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). The aim of the study was to estimat
  • Safer roads needed for the gig economy
    May 14, 2019
    Roads everywhere are becoming high-pressure workplaces for millions of gig economy workers, meaning traffic police need a new way to regulate how highways are used. Geoff Hadwick reports from Manchester, UK The way in which the world’s highways are designed, built and used needs to change fast as the gig economy becomes a global phenomenon. Millions of low-paid and badly-trained freelance drivers are now using road as their workplace, all of them working hard under huge amounts of pressure. The tren
  • Fatalities increased on US roads during 2012
    July 5, 2013
    Cause for concern comes from the US where the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA) has revealed an increase in road fatalities during 2012. The NHTSA’s statistical projection of traffic fatalities suggests that 34,080 people died in vehicle traffic crashes in 2012, an increase of about 5.3% over the 32,367 killed in 2011.
  • US carries out safety programme trial
    February 8, 2012
    The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) is carrying out road safety pilot programmes in Hartford, Connecticut and Syracuse, New York. These are intended to test whether increased law enforcement efforts can ensure that drivers stop using cell phones and focus instead on the road.