Friends increase new driver death rates

• Groups of friends increase crash risk
• Danger is higher for 30 weeks after passing test
• Calls for a change in the law

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Teenage drivers are three times more likely to have a fatal crash if they are travelling with a group of friends rather than alone, according to new research.

The study, by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), also discovered that the greatest danger of a fatal accident is posed during the first 30 weeks after a driver passes their driving test.

As a result, the ABI is urging the Government to introduce restrictions on young drivers for six months after they pass their test.

It claims that up to 270 deaths or serious injuries a year could be prevented by a law limiting all teenage drivers to carrying no more than one passenger aged under 20 for the first six months after they pass their driving test.