A study released Monday has found that teenage drivers in Utah are far more likely than other drivers to be in car crashes, especially when driving with their friends.
Although the 16- and 17-year-olds were only 5.8 percent of all drivers, they were involved in 19 percent of the accidents, according to an article by University of Utah researchers in the medical journal Pediatrics.
The study reviewed Utah automobile crashes from 1992 to 1996 among licensed drivers from 16 to 59 years old. Researchers also factored in hospital records, emergency department databases and law enforcement citations. Crashes on private property were not included in the study.
Although teens were in more car accidents, they tended to be in less serious crashes. However, the risk of death or injury to the young drivers steadily increased with the number of passengers in a car.
"When you look at the teenage drivers, they're not much different from adult drivers as far as citations. But when they have passengers, that's when they start to fall apart. That's when you see the reckless driving and speeding," said Lawrence Cook, statistician at the university's Intermountain Injury Control Research Center.
The presence of any passengers in a teen-driven car increases the risk of a crash that results in a death or serious injury by 70 percent, the study said. This conclusion is consistent with results from other states as well.
Of those crashes involving passengers, only 2.8 percent occurred when the teen was with someone older than 21. The rest, 97.2 percent, happened with the teen's peers, it said.
The study recommended the single best move to increase safety of new drivers would be to limit the number of vehicle passengers, especially other teens.
"I hope it can be used by legislatures to make a case for graduated licensing both in Utah and nationwide," said Dr. Natalie Cvijanovich, a researcher on the study and intensive care pediatrician at the University of Utah.
Statistics for the study were taken before Utah had some restrictions on teen driving.
Two years ago, the state Legislature passed a law requiring 30 hours of supervised practice before a teenager can get behind the wheel alone. It also prohibited teens younger than 17 from driving between midnight and 5 a.m.
Earlier this year, the Utah Legislature passed a weakened version of a bill to limit the number of passengers teens could have in their cars for the first six months on the road. However, an exception was included so teens with notes from their parents could drive with friends, an amendment supporters said gutted the measure.
"I wasn't really too surprised but disappointed. I think people are afraid that a stronger bill wouldn't pass," Cvijanovich said. "I guess I should be happy with what we got."