The Effect of Passengers on Teen Driver Behavior

A number of studies have shown that passengers substantially increase the risk of crashes for young, novice drivers. This increased risk may result from distractions that young passengers create for drivers. Alternatively, the presence of passengers may increase the likelihood of teenage drivers engaging in explicitly risky behaviors, for example, by actively encouraging drivers to take risks. A better understanding of how transporting peers contributes to young driver increased crash risk will help develop strategies to reduce this risk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) analyzed data collected through an earlier naturalistic driving study (Goodwin, Foss, Margolis & Waller, 2010). Over a 6-month period, event-based data recorders collected 24,085 driving clips, of which 4,466 were selected for analysis. The sample included 52 drivers: 38 newly licensed teens and 14 high-school-age siblings. Risky driving behaviors by teenage drivers were more common while they were driving in the presence of teenage peers. Teenage drivers were two-and-a-half times more likely to engage in one or more potentially risky behaviors when driving with one teenage peer compared to when driving alone. When driving with multiple teenage peers the likelihood increased to 3 times. Some of the mechanisms commonly thought to explain the increased crash risk when carrying passengers were rare, such as instances of deliberate encouragement for the drivers to take risks. Rather, helpful statements on the part of passengers were 10 times more common than statements encouraging risk-taking behavior. These findings suggest the mere presence of peers may have influenced risky driving behaviors more than deliberate encouragement. Several potential distractions were common when teenage peers were present. Loud conversation was 5 times more likely and horseplay was 9 times more likely with multiple teenage passengers in the vehicle compared to when a parent/adult was present. Other distractions, such as loud music and electronic device use, were less common in the presence of passengers. This study had several limitations. First, teens may have changed their driving behavior because of the presence of the data recorders. Second, the sample was small, included a disproportionate percentage of females, and was overrepresented by families with higher-level education and higher incomes. These sample characteristics suggest caution in generalizing the findings to teenage drivers broadly.