Passengers
In a study analyzed by NHTSA, teen drivers were two-and-a-half times more likely to engage in one or more potentially risky behaviors when driving with one teenage peer, compared to when driving alone. According to the same study analyzed by NHTSA, the likelihood of teen drivers engaging in one or more risky behaviors when traveling with multiple passengers increased to three times compared to when driving alone. In fact, research shows that the risk of a fatal crash goes up in direct relation to the number of teenagers in the car.
What Can You Do?
- Familiarize yourself with your State's graduated driver licensing (GDL) law, and enforce its guidelines for your teen.
- Set your own additional rules and consequences. Establish the consequences you will enforce if your teen doesn’t obey the State GDL restrictions. If your State doesn’t have a passenger restriction, establish your own rule limiting the number of passengers in the car and enforce it.
