DEATHS OF TEENAGERS AS MOTOR-VEHICLE PASSENGERS

Most studies of teenage motor-vehicle crashes and injuries have focussed on drivers. However, deaths of 13- to 19-year-olds as passengers are nearly as common as teenage driver deaths (2,131 vs. 2,355 in 1993), and teenage passenger death rates are much higher relative to rates for older people than is the case for driver deaths. The deaths of both teenage drivers and passengers, compared with deaths of older motor-vehicle occupants, are more likely to occur at night, and in smaller and older cars. Two-thirds of teenage passengers killed in 1993 were in vehicles driven by other teenagers. More teenage passenger deaths occurred in vehicles driven by 16-year-olds than any other teen age, and both male and female 16-year-old drivers had greatly elevated rates of teenage passenger deaths in their vehicle per licensed driver and per mile driven compared with older teenage drivers. Countermeasures include night driving curfews and restrictions on teenage passengers in the vehicles of newly licensed drivers, a feature of New Zealand's graduated licensing system that has reduced teenage motor-vehicle injuries in vehicles driven by 15- to 19-year-olds.