With car wrecks killing someone age 15 to 20 about every 1 1/2 hours, the American Automobile Association is calling for more driver education and greater restrictions on licenses for beginners.
"Mistakes are part of any learning process, including driving," said AAA President Robert L. Darbelnet. "The issue is how to minimize the likelihood that crashes will occur while young people are learning to drive and how best to protect them from injury."He opened the association's "licensed to learn" campaign this week.
The effort is aimed at getting all states to adopt graduated licensing programs and to require more behind-the-wheel training for new drivers.
While 15- to 20-year-olds account for just 7 percent of all drivers, they are involved in 14 percent of fatal crashes and 20 percent of all accidents, the association reported. The number of teenagers is expected to increase by 25 percent by 2012.
Most of those accidents, the AAA said, are caused by inexperience, poor driving skills, risk-taking and poor decision-making.
Overall, some 6,300 drivers ages 15 to 20 were killed in crashes last year - one every 84 minutes.
The AAA said that studies show the risk of having an accident declines sharply after someone has three to four years of driving experience.
Graduated licensing programs allow youths to gain experience and maturity while reducing risk by limiting the situations in which they can drive.
Several states already have graduated systems with various restrictions, the AAA said, but most do not.
Among organizations proposing model graduated programs are the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances and the National Association of Independent Insurers.