Studies have shown that the effect of passengers on accident propensity among young drivers is ambiguous—in some cases positive and some negative. In Sweden, various kinds of information are compiled in registers, including a national accident database and exposure data collected in a national investigation of the driving habits of license holders. Access to such data offers a good opportunity to study crash risks related to driving with and without passengers. This was done for drivers in three different age groups (18–24, 25–64 and >65 years) accompanied by one, two or three or morepassengers. Differences in crash risk were estimated using incidence density ratios (IDRs) and 95% confidence intervals. The results show that passengers had an overall protective effect, that is, the crash risk was higher for those who drove alone, regardless of their age or gender. This protective effect increased with every extra passenger (up to eight), indicating that the more passengers in the vehicle, the safer the driving. The influence of passengers was weakest (albeit still positive) among the youngestdrivers (ages 18–24 years), especially the males in that group. The protective impact showed the same pattern on all days of the week, but was mostmarked from Friday to Sunday for most of the drivers, regardless of age. (A) Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
Abstract