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U.S. teens' driving habits risky - study

26 Jan 2007 01:09:18 GMT
Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Teenage drivers are often distracted by cell phones and rowdy passengers and impaired by emotions and fatigue, according to a survey of nearly 6,000 U.S. high school students released on Thursday.

The survey, conducted by State Farm Insurance Companies and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, was the first to poll teenagers about their driving habits, administrators said.

"Teens describe a driving environment that would be challenging to even the most experienced drivers," Flaura Winston, a doctor from the hospital and principal investigator of the report, said at a news conference.

Nearly half of teen respondents said they talked on a cell phone, at least sometimes, while driving, and 53 percent reported seeing substance use, including alcohol and marijuana by passengers of teen drivers, the survey report said.

Three-quarters of the respondents said they saw teens driving tired at least some of the time, and 55 percent said they had seen a teen driver exhibit "road rage."

Only 65 percent said they consistently wore seatbelts both as a driver and a passenger, and half of teen driver respondents reported driving 10 mph (16 kph) over the speed limit at least sometimes, said the report titled "Driving: Through the Eyes of Teens."

One in five ninth through 11th graders had been involved in at least one crash as a passenger in the past year, and 8 percent of teens in the survey had been the driver in at least one crash where someone needed medical attention, it said. Ninth to 11th graders are generally 13 to 16 years old.

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for American teenagers. In 2005, more than 7,000 people aged 15 to 20 were involved in fatal crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Almost all said they had seen peers fail to pay attention to the road because of other teenagers in the car. The National Transportation Safety Board has found a teenage driver's crash risk increases with each additional teen passenger in the vehicle.

Nearly three-fourths of ninth through 11th graders were learning to drive or already driving, the study said.

The report is available online at http://www.chop.edu/consumer/index.jsp.

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Last updated:Fri Jan 26 01:09:40 2007