Several studies have found that the presence of teenage passengers increases the crash risk of teenage drivers. Most U.S. states now have graduated driver licensing systems that limit the number of passengers that a young driver is allowed to carry in the vehicle during the first several months of licensed independent driving. The objective of this study was to document the proportion of fatal crashes of 16- and 17-year-old drivers in which passengers were present in relation to the age, sex, and number of passengers in the vehicle, and to examine the characteristics of these crashes in relation to specific combinations of passengers. State-by-state summary data are also provided. Data on fatal crashes that occurred in the United States from 2005 through 2010 and involved a 16- or 17-year-old driver of a passenger vehicle (car, pickup truck, van, minivan, or sport utility vehicle) were analysed. Crashes that occurred in the state of Virginia were excluded due to evident under-reporting of the presence of passengers who were not injured. There were 3,667 16-year-old drivers and 5,911 17-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes over the study period; 57% had at least one passenger. Most commonly, all passengers in the vehicle were aged 13-19; this was the case for 42% of all drivers in fatal crashes and 73% of those with any passengers. Of fatal-crash-involved drivers with teenage passengers and no passengers of other ages, 56% had one passenger, 24% had two, and 20% had three or more. The passengers were most frequently of the same sex as the driver and within one year of the driver’s age. Among fatal crashes of 16- and 17-year-old drivers, crash and injury risk factors of speeding, alcohol use, late-night driving, lack of a valid driver’s license, seatbelt non-use, and responsibility for the crash were more prevalent when teenage passengers were present than when the driver was alone, and the prevalence of these risk factors generally increased as the number of teenage passengers increased. All risk factors except lack of a valid license were least prevalent when an adult passenger aged 30 or older was present. Although most state graduated driver licensing systems now include a restriction on carrying passengers for the first several months of licensed independent driving, teenage passengers still are present in more than two of every five fatal crashes of 16- and 17-year-old drivers. The data presented in this report can help states identify remaining targets of opportunity to prevent fatal crashes that involve teenage drivers with teenage passengers through refinements to their graduated driver licensing programs as well as other means, such as enhanced enforcement of existing laws by police as well as by parents. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting