In the first part of this two part series, we discussed the exciting time in a teen's life when he or she becomes a driver. That time is not only very exciting for them but can be very dangerous to others on the road, especially when the teen has passengers consisting of other teens.

Studies were conducted that not only looked at a teen's increased risk for causing a car accident when others are in the vehicle, but what exactly causes that increase in risk.

The studies found that teens that are most likely to have peer passengers often consider themselves thrill-seekers, have fewer rules at home concerning parental notification and had a lower appreciation or understanding of the overall risk. Another study of teen-related crashes found that a teen driver with passengers was more likely to have been distracted immediately prior to the crash as opposed to those who were driving alone at the time.

The studies also had a gender correlation. Females were found less likely to drive aggressively with or without passengers. Males on the other hand, were approximately six times more likely to participate in illegal driving maneuvers and twice as likely to drive in an aggressive manor when driving with an audience.

Whether you chalk it up to inexperience, aggressive driving or a distracting passenger, a teen that causes an accident due to negligence should not be immune from liability. When a driver accepts the privilege of driving, they also accept the duty to drive safely and the responsibility for their actions.

Source: USA Today, "Teen driver's friends can be dangerous distraction, studies find," Robert Preidt, Jan. 30, 2012