Keeping teens safe behind the wheel

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A AAA study released Tuesday says teen drivers are four times more likely to die in a car crash if they have other teens with them.

The statistics sadly are not surprising to many people, but it once again confirms the need for 16 and 17 year olds to give their undivided attention to road in front of them.

The AAA foundation's findings show that fatalities among teens are 44-percent higher when carrying one passenger younger than 21. It's doubles when two people under 21 are in the car, and it quadruples when the car is packed with three or more kids under 21. Now all of these numbers were complied given the fact that no adult above the age of 35 was with them in the car.

The study analyzed data on crashed and the number of miles driven by 16 and 17 year olds. Many states including California have adopted new rules restricting when a teen can drive and who the teen can have with them.

Bottom line is your kids may complain and talk your ear off, but the stats don't lie. Carrying at least one passenger over the age of 35 cuts a teen driver's risk of death by 62-percent.

A new study by Consumer Reports says eight in ten teens say the know the risks of texting while driving, but do it anyway. The kicker here though, is that half of them see their parents on their cell phones.

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consumer, tommy tran

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