Study: Teen riders boost teen driver risks

WASHINGTON -- For generations, teenagers have been the most dangerous drivers, crashing almost four times more often that older drivers. A study released Tuesday quantifies for the first time in a decade how their risk of a fatal crash multiplies when they have other teenagers in the car.

It increases by almost half when a 16- or 17-year-old driver has one teenage passenger; it doubles with two teen passengers; and it quadruples with three or more young passengers.

Using federal fatality statistics, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety provided that data that will support parents who have forbidden their teenage children from driving with other teenagers.

"We know that carrying young passengers is a huge risk, but it's also a preventable one," said AAA foundation president Peter Kissinger.

The AAA study is the latest of three recent reports to raise concerns about teenage drivers. The Governors Highway Safety Association reviewed preliminary data from the first six months of last year, finding a slight increase in the number of fatal crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers. -- The Washington Post