Teenage drivers pose an increased danger to others on New Mexico roadways because they lack experience. This lack of experience makes them less likely to avoid crashes. However, many car wrecks involving teenage drivers also result from those drivers having other young passengers in the car, creating distractions. This has become an increasingly common factor in fatal teen-involved wrecks.
According to the AAA Newsroom, other motorists, like yourself, face a much higher risk of dying in a car wreck involving a teen driver if that teenage driver also had teenage passengers present during the collision.
Statistics involving teen drivers with passengers
When a teen driver strikes your car or truck and that driver has a teen passenger in the vehicle, the presence of the passenger makes you 56% more likely to die in the wreck than you would be otherwise. While teen drivers with passengers endanger you in your vehicle, they also pose a threat to you or anyone else traveling in the same area on a bike or on foot. Statistics show that your chance of dying as a pedestrian or cyclist in a crash involving a teenager is 17% higher when that teen driver has one or more passengers present.
Statistics involving teen drivers with older passengers
Research indicates that it is not so much having a passenger that enhances crash risks, but rather, having a passenger that is not yet an adult. Unsurprisingly, when teenagers have passengers in their cars who are 35 or older, fatal crash risks actually decline by 8%.
If you have been injured from a crash with a teen, find legal representation that is ready to demonstrate the factors involved to ensure full accountability.
