Teen drivers lack the experience of older adult motorists. Their inexperience can cause serious car crashes, but inexperience isn’t always the reason for a teenager's accident. Distracted teen drivers can also cause a car wreck and according to a recent study, if they have teen passengers in the car with them, they're more likely to cause fatal accidents.
An October 2018 study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that the fatality rate for teen drivers with only teen passengers in the car increased 51 percent for all people involved in the crash. More specifically, the fatality risks increased:
- 56 percent for occupants of other vehicles
- 45 percent for the teen driver
- 17 percent for pedestrians and cyclists
When teen drivers drove with passengers 35 or older, the fatality rate fell by about 8 percent.
This wasn't the first time the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety determined that teen passengers raise the risk of being in a crash. In 2012, the Foundation found that young motorists aged 16 and 17 who have passengers under 21 are at greater risk of being in a crash. Additionally, the study also indicated that more passengers traveling together increase the likelihood of a collision.
Protect Your Teen Driver or Passenger
In Texas, teens are eligible for provisional drivers’ licenses at 16. At that age, if a young person meets the requirements and passes the driving test, he or she receives a provisional license, which they'll have until 18. A teenager with a provisional driver’s license may only have one passenger under 21—who isn't a family member—in the car at a time.
As a parent, it's important to make sure that your child complies with Texas Graduated Driver License Program and all your rules for safe driving. It's also critical that your young motorist knows to first call the police, then you, after any accident if he or she is the driver or passenger.
Then, contact Steven M Lee, P.C. for a free consultation to protect your teen’s rights and potential recovery.
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Teen Driver + Teen Passenger = Increased Risk of Fatal Crash
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