Study assesses teen driving risks

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A federal study says U.S. teenage drivers, both males and females, are more likely to tailgate and speed when a male teenager is a passenger in the front seat.

The study by the National Institutes of Health also says male teenagers are less likely to tailgate or exceed the speed limit when a teenage female is in the front passenger seat.

Similarly, female teen drivers are slightly more likely to tailgate if there is a female teen passenger in the vehicle with them.

The study appears on-line in Accident Analysis and Prevention and will appear in a future edition of that journal.

"This study provides information that will be useful for officials in devising teen licensing standards," said Dr. Duane Alexander. "The findings indicate that teen risky driving increases in the presence of teen passengers, particularly male teen passengers. But more important, the finding should remind teens -- and the adults who care about them -- that they need to drive safely, regardless of who is in the passenger seat."