Friends Double a Teen’s Crash Risk, 20 Die in Just One Week

Last week was deadly for U. S. teens. Twenty young people between the ages of 14 and 19 died in car crashes in five states.  As a mother, I’m heartbroken.  As a teen safe driving advocate, I’m angry. 

In every crash there were multiple teens in the vehicle.  Four in Wilmington, Illinois; five in Dumas, Texas; seven in Versailles, Indiana; eight in Warren, Ohio; and three in Watford City, North Dakota.  In all but one of these states, novice drivers are banned from carrying multiple teen passengers for a specified period of time.  The most stringent is Indiana; that state’s Graduated Driver License (GDL) law bans teen passengers for the first 180 days of licensure. 

In New Jersey, teens holding a probationary (restricted) license under the state’s GDL program are limited to one passenger unless accompanied by parent or  guardian.  That restriction applies even if the passenger is a sibling.  Some teens and parents argue that the ban is excessive, but limiting passengers is essential. 

Put just one teen passenger in the vehicle with a novice at the wheel and the fatality rate, according to a AAA study, increases 44 percent.  Add another teen and the risk for death doubles.  It quadruples when there are three or more passengers in the vehicle.  Why?  Teens distract other teens and are more likely to prompt novice drivers to take risks than they would if they were driving alone. While police are investigating the cause of each of these deadly crashes, preliminary reports point to speeding, failure to obey stop signs, even fleeing police as factors. 

Parents are the first line of defense when it comes to teen safe driving. Recognizing the risk for teens, I urge parents to heed and adamantly enforce the passenger restriction.  All teens are inexperienced and their brains are hardwired to process risk far differently than adults.  While it may be more convenient to allow your teen to transport his siblings and/or peers to school and other activities, that decision not only increases their crash risk, but could prove deadly.  No matter how strong state GDL laws are, it’s up to parents to support and enforce all of the GDL provisions (no late night driving, only one passenger, seat belt use by all, no cell phone use or texting), which are proven to prevent teen crashes and save lives.  

If you’re not up to speed on how and why GDL works, get educated.  You can learn about New Jersey’s GDL program by visiting a comprehensive website developed and maintained by the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey (car crashes are, incidentally, the number one cause of teen brain injury).  It details our GDL program and provides an array of resources designed to help parents help their teens.

The Allstate Foundation and the National Safety Council have also teamed up to develop Drive it Home.  This new, interactive website uses videos, quizzes, role playing, and humor to help parents understand the risks for their teens and provides tools we can use to address that risk.  That’s important since a new survey by The Allstate Foundation found that more than 40 percent of parents don’t know that car crashes are the leading killer of teens or that driver inexperience is the leading cause of teen crashes. 

Parents have the greatest influence over their teens and what they do behind the wheel.  Take the time to get educated about the proven provisions of New Jersey’s GDL program (you can do it at any time from the comfort of home thanks to these web tools).  Bear in mind, however, that the restrictions – including the limit on passengers – are a minimum standard.  To keep your teen driver safe, learn what is the “best practice” and leverage it for all it’s worth.