Safe Kids Worldwide, with the help of the General Motors Foundation, recently conducted a survey of 1,000 teen passengers and drivers to learn more about their behaviors in vehicles.
Here are some results:
- While the number of teen driver deaths has decreased since its peak in 2002 (5,491 deaths), there is now a greater proportion of teen passengers unrestrained in crashes (46.8% drivers vs. 54.2% passengers).
- What’s more surprising is that many teens feel unsafe riding in the car with a teen driver, yet still do so without wearing a seat belt.
- 50% of teens felt unsafe with a teen driver and 31% have felt unsafe with a parent driving
- Almost six in 10 have ridden with a parent who was talking on the phone
- 28 percent have been with a parent who was texting while driving
- Speaking up to an unsafe driver is a challenge for many in the survey; 40 percent of teens say they ask the driver to stop what they’re doing, but another 39 percent say they do nothing
The study also found that having a passenger who wasn’t using a seat belt sitting behind a restrained driver increased the risk of death to the driver by 137 percent, compared to having a passenger who was using a seat belt.
The full study can be found here: https://www.safekids.org/research-report/research-report-teens-cars; and I’ve attached a photo to be used with the caption below.
Caption: With more teens dying in motor vehicle crashes than from any other cause, a new Safe Kids Worldwide report, funded by the GM Foundation, identifies strategies to drive down this statistic and emphasize the importance of buckling up every ride, every time.