A new study has revealed that teen drivers, who are distracted by loud conversations and horseplay are more likely get involved in a dangerous incident.
According to the study from the UNC Highway Safety Research Center young drivers were less likely to use cell phones and other technology (including in-vehicle systems, like the radio and temperature control) when there were passengers in the car with them.
However, the study found that multiple passengers in the car more often led to more serious incidents and ten drivers were six times more likely to have a serious incident when there was loud conversation in the vehicle and three times more likely to have a serious incident when there was horseplay in the vehicle.
Robert Foss said that forty three states currently restrict newly licensed drivers from having more than one young passenger in their vehicle and the result of this study illustrate the importance of such restrictions, which increase the safety of drivers, their passengers and others on the road by reducing the potential chaos that novice drivers experience.
The study was published online in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
