“With teenagers, the pressure is always on to impress,” says one assistant to an attorney in Ellwood in response to recent Pennsylvania legislation limiting the number of other teens that may be in a car for the first six months after a teenager gets a learner’s permit. “There’s this feeling of bravado, this desire that kids have to want to show off, and the more they want to show off while driving, the more dangerous their driving becomes. They speed, make bad decisions, weave in and out of traffic, and fail to stop completely at stop signs or red lights.”
Factoring in the influence that other teens have on teen drivers has shown that the number of fatal car accidents grows exponentially in proportion to the number of other teens that are in the car at the time of the incident. With just one other teen present, according to studies, the risk increases to 48 percent. That same risk doubles with two passengers in the car, and triples with three.
“It’s not just wanting to show off that accounts for these increases when we look at these figures,” the assistant to the attorney in Elwood says. “Teens riding together as a group may not only be more likely to take stupid risks, but also to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
One bereaved mother sought a free consultation with an attorney in Elwood when her son was killed in a car accident involving a group of teen drivers. He was a passenger in a fatal accident that happened in the wee hours of the morning as the teens were returning from a late night party. The driver was not intoxicated. She is seeking advice from an Elwood attorney on whether or not she can pursue punitive damages from the driver anyway, as well as from the other parents (who own the vehicle) and the other kids, as well, based on the reasoning behind the recent legislation.
“If they have found that having more kids in the car increases the risk, then whoever allowed more kids to be in the car should be held liable for risking my son’s life. They should be held accountable for the death of my son,” she said.
The recent legislation only allows a teenager age 17 who has a learner’s permit to have one passenger under the age of 18 in the car while driving for the first six months they are on the road. Brothers and sisters are excluded from that restriction. Contact an attorney in Ellwood with regard to any implications this legislation may have on an accident in which your child has been involved.
Attorney Ellwood Car accidents due to negligence are often extremely difficult for those who sustain injuries, and are devastating to those who lose loved ones. To contact an attorney in Ellwood with regard to such a case, Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George are personal injury attorneys who have a depth of experience with such car accident cases.
