The AAA Foundation for Traffic Saftey found that when a teen driver has teenage passengers in the car, the fatality rate for everyone involved in a crash increased 51 percent. In contrast, when older passengers (35 or older) ride with a teen driver, overall fatality rates in crashes decreased eight percent.
“What this new study revealed is that when you add a teen passenger in the vehicle when you have a teen driver behind the wheel, you’re increasing your risk of a fatality by 51 percent,” said Tiffany Wright, spokesperson for AAA of the Carolinas.