Teenage drivers who are carrying only teen passengers in their vehicle increase the risk of a deadly crash, not just for themselves and their passengers, but for everyone else on the road too.

New research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has found that when a teen driver is carrying teen passengers, the fatality rate for all people involved in a crash increases by 51 percent.

“This analysis shows that in crashes where teen drivers are behind the wheel with a teen passenger, a larger portion of those killed are other road users,” said Dr. David Yang, Executive Director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “This study also found the fatality rate of a teen-driver related crash increased when factors like speeding or driving at night, were introduced.”

In contrast, when older passengers (35 or older) ride with a teen driver, overall fatality rates in crashes decrease by eight percent.

According to the research, when teens carry teen passengers, fatality rates jump:

  • 56 percent for the occupants of other vehicles
  • 45 percent for the teen driver
  • 17 percent for pedestrians and cyclists

“Teens simply lack experience behind the wheel, which increases the odds of a deadly outcome, not just for the teen driver, but for their passengers and others on the roadways,” said Jennifer Ryan, Director of AAA State Relations. “Parents of teens must take this rite of passage seriously by setting and consistently enforcing rules to limit teenage passengers in the vehicle.”

The AAA provides the following tips to help keep teen drivers – and everyone else on the road – safe:

  • Require teen drivers to log at least 100 hours of supervised practice driving with a parent before driving solo
  • Begin by practicing driving in low-risk situations and gradually move to situations that are more complex: highways, nighttime, driving in the rain, and on and around challenging roadways (e.g., curves)
  • Allow no more than one non-family passenger under the age of 20 to ride with the teen driver during the first six months of driving
  • Use slightly different routes each practice session
  • Practice adjusting speed based on three factors: visibility, on-road traffic and different road