Surprise: Teens multitask while driving, therefore increasing their risk for a crash.
As it turns out, beginners are more likely to dial a cell phone or write a text, reach away from the steering wheel, get distracted by something along the road, or eat while operating a vehicle.
"Any secondary task that takes the novice driver's eyes off the road increases risk," according to Charlie Klauer, group leader for teen risk and injury prevention at the transportation institute's Center for Vulnerable Road User Safety.
Media attention has been heaped on the use of cell phones or other handheld electronics while behind the wheel. And while kids may hate the "don't text and drive" lecture, each one who follows the rules can help decrease the number of car crashes.
The study revealed that drivers ages 15 to 20 represent more than 6 percent of all motorists on the road, but account for more than 11 percent of fatalities, and 14 percent of police-reported, injury-inducing crashes.
Klauer's team compared the results of two studies that pit 100 drivers ages 18 to 72 with an average 20 years of on-road experience against 42 teens who had drivers' licenses for less than three weeks.
Using data acquisition systems and a handful of in-car cameras and sensors, the researchers were able to determine the distracting causes of a crash or near-crash. Among novice teen drivers, though, those distracting causes often didn't crop up until about six months into the 18-month study.
"Novice drivers are more likely to engage in high-risk secondary tasks more frequently over time as they become more comfortable with driving," Klauer said in a statement. "The increasingly high rates of secondary task engagement among newly licensed novice drivers in our study are worrisome as this appears to be an important contributing factor to crashes or near-crashes," she said.
A number of participants from both studies were involved in multiple crash/near-crash events.
The federal government is already working to curb distracted driving. In April, the U.S. Department of Transportation released voluntary guidelines for how car manufacturers can help the cause. The policies establish criteria for manufacturers installing in-vehicle features like communication or entertainment systems and navigation devices that require drivers to take their hands off the wheel or eyes off the road.
More recently, New York State installed special "Texting Zones" along the thruway and state highways to encourage motorists to pull off the road and park before using their cell phone.