If your teen drives another teen, they are far more likely to die. Here’s why.

The rate of fatalities in crashes greatly increases when a teen driver has a teen passenger in the vehicle, according to research from AAA.

If a teenager is driving with only teen passengers along for the ride, the fatality rate for all people involved in a crash increases by 51 percent, research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety showed. In contrast, when passengers 35 years or older ride with a teen driver, fatality rates in crashes decrease 8 percent, AAA stated.

In a release, AAA emphasized the need for teen drivers to gain adequate supervised training, especially in a variety of driving scenarios.

“Teens simply lack experience behind the wheel, which increases the odds of a deadly outcome, not just for the teen driver, but for their passengers and others on the roadways,” said Lori Weaver Hawkins, public and government affairs manager of AAA Blue Grass. “Parents of teens must take this rite of passage seriously be setting and consistently enforcing rules to limit teenage passengers in the vehicle.”

Kentucky has one of the highest teen crash rates in the nation, according to the AAA study. In 2016 in Kentucky, there were 66 fatalities in crashes that involved a teen driver. A third of those deaths were the teen drivers themselves, while 36 percent were occupants of other vehicles.

Nationally, when a teen is carrying teen passengers, fatality rates jumped 56 percent for occupants of other vehicles, 45 percent for the teen driver and 17 percent for pedestrians and cyclists.

Teenage drivers account for just six percent of Kentucky drivers, but they are involved in 18 percent of its fatal crashes, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Nationwide, in 10 percent of fatal crashes with a teen driver, the teen was distracted in some way, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Weaver said the study also found the fatality rates also increased when speeding or driving at night were factors.

AAA recommends teenagers be required to log at least 100 hours of supervised practice driving with a parent before driving solo — considerably more than the 60 hours Kentucky requires.

It also encourages teen drivers to use different routes for each practice session and to practice adjusting speed based on visibility, on-road traffic and different road conditions.

Kentucky drivers with an instruction permit are not allowed to drive with more than one unrelated person under 20 years old. But those rules aren’t always followed.