WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Most U.S. teens regularly drive while distracted by other passengers and cell phones, according to an insurance industry survey released Wednesday.
Ninety percent of all teens said friends drive while talking or sending text messages on a mobile phone. An equal number say their friends speed.
The idea that teens are prone to driving distracted and at high rates of speed is not surprising. But researchers said they're beginning to understand teens' emotions may play a significant role.
"It distracts them. It makes them not make these good decisions," said Dr. Flaura K. Winston, co-scientific director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which conducted the study.
The survey asked 5,665 high school students about their and their friends' driving behaviors. A full 90 percent said they've seen friends drive while distracted by other teens in the car. Beyond that, teens love to speed.
"It's just terrible how addictive speed is when you get in that zone," said Steve Arends, who suffered a severe brain injury in a crash that killed his twin brother when the two were 17 years old in 2003.
Winston said that one in five of teens surveyed said they've already been in a crash. Overall, 16- to 19-year-old drivers have crash fatality rates four times higher than adults over 25, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The study was paid for by State Farm Insurance, which is lobbying for uniform graduated licensing laws nationwide that restrict new drivers' ability to drive with passengers or at night.
"As a business issue, this is something we really want to address," said Laurette Stiles, the company's vice president.
