Teen drivers are more likely to be killed when there are other teenagers in the car, according to a study conducted by AAA. 

The study found when teens drive with other teens, the fatality rate for everyone involved in a crash jumps up 51 percent.

According to AAA, fatality rates jumped 56 percent for occupants of other vehicles, 45 percent for the teen driver and 17 percent for pedestrians and cyclists.

“As you can imagine, teenagers driving with other teens – laughing, joking, playing the radio, having a good time – concentration on the road is not paramount, and that is a problem,” says AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair.

AAA says supervised driving with the parent in the passenger seat as the coach is the first step to teaching teens how to become responsible drivers. It also recommends allowing no more than one non-family passenger under the age of 20 to ride with the teen driver during the first six months of driving.