The program is promoted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Ride like a Friend was the name given to the program all across the country, which focused on the distractions that passengers can cause, and how to lessen this occurrence.  Car accidents are the major cause of death in teenagers according to the CDC, and it is shown that in one out of three teenage deaths, car accidents are to blame.  While many may believe that alcohol is the main cause for these accidents, it is actually due to distractions.  In California, teens are forced to wait before they can drive with passengers in the car by a graduated license program that is in place.

Studies have shown that with teenage motorists, the more passengers that are riding in the car the greater the accident risk.  In fact, when a teenager drives with one passenger, the chances of having an accident is increased two-fold, while driving with multiple passengers seems to raise risk by 4 to 5 times.

Teenagers are encouraged to participate in numerous activities in the Ride like a Friend campaign in order to promote safe driving behavior.  They may work to produce public service announcements such as videos to encourage safe behavior by passengers.  Drivers and passengers work together to create radio, print, video and performance art PSAs, and also compete locally.  Since teenagers often use social networking sites, they are encouraged to spread the word on sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.  These messages are an effort to increase the awareness of passengers about distracting the driver, and how dangerous this can be.

Los Angeles car accident lawyers believe it is a good practice to educate teenage motorists about the risks of being distracted while driving, and encouraging passengers to be responsible and engage in safe behavior as well.  National Teen Driver Safety Week is one effort that is concentrated on developing our teenagers into safe, well informed drivers.

The Reeves Law Group has offices across California and is dedicated to representing California auto accident victims, including victims of car accidents.  Please contact us for a free consultation at (800) 644-8000.