Teens And Fatal Car Accidents

February 18, 2015

Teens and fatal car accidents

Pennsylvania parents hoping to reduce the odds of seeing their children suffer from fatal car accidents can take one important step–be sure that their teen motorists are driving with adults 21 years of age or older, and that they’re not driving with passengers who are also teens.

The Associated Press recently reported on a study by the Automobile Association of America’s (AAA) Foundation for Traffic Safety, which found that teens who drive with their young friends face far greater risks of being involved in fatal car accidents. As the story says, the impact is similar to when teens send text messages or make calls on their cell phones while driving; put simply, they aren’t paying enough attention to the road.

According to the study, the risk that teen drivers will suffer a fatal car accident rises by 44% when they are driving with one passenger younger than 21 and no older passengers in their vehicles. The risk doubles when teen drivers are carrying two passengers younger than 21, and quadruples when carrying three or more younger passengers.

The study also found that the chances of a teen driver getting involved in a fatal car accident drops by 62% when these teens are driving with passengers who are 35 or older.

Again, the reason for this is clear–teen drivers are more likely to pay attention to the road when they are traveling with a parent or some other older adult. Accordingly, parents who want to keep their teens safe when they are driving, need to make sure that adults are present in their vehicles and that friends are kept to a minimum. Doing so could be the difference between life and death.

If your teen has been involved in a car accident at the hands of another teen driver who may have been negligently operating the vehicle at the time of the accident, please call the Pittsburgh car accidents attorneys at Goodrich and Geist today at 412-837-8426 for a free consultation.