Teens are at higher risk of being injured or killed in New York City car accidents when they are riding with their friends.
Our New York City car accident attorneys have been keeping up on the latest research concerning the most at-risk populations for crashes.
Two new studies in the latest Journal of Adolescent Health indicate that teens who ride with their friends are more likely to end up in a wreck.
While many similar studies have noted teen boys to be at particular risk of crashing (with many insurance companies seizing upon this information to jack up monthly rates), this study found that when it came to having friends in the car, both sexes were equally distracted. Having more than one teen in a vehicle is a recipe for risky driving behavior, including aggressive and illegal driving.
In a sample of more than 675 drivers between the ages of 16 and 18 who had been involved in major car accidents, the majority had been distracted by other teens in the vehicle.
The U.S. Centers for Disease control also points out that the risk of a crash increases with each additional teen passenger your young driver has in the car with them.
At particular risk for this type of distraction are newly-licensed teens, especially in the first year they are eligible to drive.
A study in that same journal, however, pointed to how strong parental monitoring and car safety rules can dramatically decrease the kinds of risky behaviors teens take behind the wheel.
Simply talking to your teen about how dangerous it can be to get careless behind the wheel is sometimes enough to drive home the point. It's also a good idea to have your teen sign a contract, promising to engage in safe driving habits. Outline the consequences of what will happen if they don't follow through.
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