Young Drivers Plus No Seat Belts a Bad Mix

Teens who are passengers in automobiles that crash are more likely to die than younger children in the same setting, according to a study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

This is especially true if the car is being driven by a young, inexperienced driver, a new study reveals.

After Age 12 a Dramatic Increase in Deaths

Researchers looked at 45,560 crashes that involved passengers ages eight to 17. From 2000 to 2005, 9,807 passengers in this age group died in car crashes.

"We were surprised to find that there was a clear tipping point that occurred between ages 12 and 16, says lead researcher Dr. Flaura Koplin-Winston, with the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "There was a dramatic rise in deaths to passengers in cars."

Before age 12, the number of deaths per year of age was fairly constant, and then suddenly between 12 and 14, it rose dramatically and continued to rise all the way through the teens, says Dr. Koplin-Winston.

Among these deaths, 54.4 percent of the teens were riding with a driver under age 20. In addition, almost two-thirds of the teens that died were not wearing seat belts.

More than three-quarters of the crashes happened on roads with speed limits above 45 mph, the researchers found. Drinking was a factor in 21.2 percent of the fatal car crashes.

"To me, as a pediatrician, a researcher, and [a] mother, it really hit home to me that parents need to start the driving conversation way before they start thinking about a learner's permit," says Dr. Koplin-Winston.

"It has to start around 12 or 13, because that's when kids start being driven by other people, and, unfortunately, sometimes by their peers," she notes.

Dr. Koplin-Winston says parents should talk to their children about wearing seat belts and be models of seat-belt wearing themselves.

"We need to identify what is an unsafe ride," explains Dr. Koplin-Winston. "Riding with someone who is a young driver, particularly one who is under 16, particularly in the first year of driving, may be dangerous."

Parents should help their children find alternative solutions and other rides, notes Dr. Koplin-Winston.

She supports graduated driving laws that restrict the number and age of passengers that a young driver can have in the car.

"Those kinds of things can really save lives," she says.

One expert thinks parents do not pay enough attention when their children start climbing into the cars of their friends.

Parents Must Urge Use of Restraints

"Parents often worry about health issues in their children - Is my kid's headache a brain tumor? Of course, no one wants his/her kid to get these illnesses, but they are rare and not preventable," says Dr. Karen Sheehan, medical director of Injury Prevention and Research at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

What is common and what is largely preventable are motor vehicle crashes, Dr. Sheehan says.

"However, as a society, we think of car crashes as accidents, but really when you look at the data closely, as they did in this article, there are specific risks for death that can be identified - and if avoided may prevent serious injury," she says.

"Parents need to require their kids use restraints," she emphasizes. "Parents need to be aware of the dangers of their kids riding with young drivers, especially on high-speed roads."

Always consult your physician for more information.