ROANOKE, Va. – New research gives even more proof to something many parents already know, teen drivers with teen passengers makes for a deadly combination.
AAA released new study findings Thursday backing up the claim. Its research shows anyone involved in a crash is 51% more likely to die when a teen is driving and has only other teens riding with them. That's 8% higher than if there's an adult riding along.
Jim Stepp of Roanoke's Brambleton Driving School said it's exactly the reason why he preaches distraction free driving to his students.
"Your first job is to drive that car and be safe and you have other peoples' lives at stake as well," Stepp said. "Too many lives beind wasted, being the number one cause of fatalities of death being motor vehicle crashes for teenagers."
In 2016 teen drivers were involved in more than 1 million crashes resulting in more than 3,000 deaths.