"A passenger in your car acts as a safety buffer Jena's team found that on album release days — when drivers are most tempted to fiddle with their phones — the spike in fatal crashes was meaningfully smaller for drivers who had a passenger in the car. As Jena explained, 'having a passenger in the car makes you less susceptible to an increased car crash when an album was released compared to the surrounding days,' either because the passenger operates the device or the social dynamic reduces the urge to reach for the phone. The practical implication is direct: when you know you'll be in high-distraction conditions — a new playlist, an unfamiliar route, an emotional phone call — having someone else in the car is a measurable, evidence-backed safety mechanism. Source: Bapu Jena, Freakonomics Radio, Smartphones, Online Music Streaming, and Traffic Fatalities"