Contact: Katherine Heck, 4-H Youth Development specialist, UC Davis, 530-754-8755, keheck@ucdavis.edu; Carla Sousa, 4-H Youth Development advisor, Tulare County, 559-685-3309 Ext. 221, cmsousa@ucdavis.edu

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 4 /Standard Newswire/ -- More than a third of teenage drivers surveyed by University of California researchers admitted that they have been distracted by young passengers while driving. The most common distraction was talking, yelling, arguing or being loud, but 22 percent of the teenage drivers said they were distracted by passengers doing things like "fooling around," "messing around," or "being stupid."

Even "wrestling" and "dancing" in the car were distractions teenage drivers reported.

About 7.5 percent of the young drivers said a passenger has distracted them intentionally. They said passengers had "punched me in the head," "tickled me," "hit me in the face," or was "squirting guns at me." Other deliberate distractions were attempts by passengers to control the car, such as "mess around with mirrors," "messed with my seat adjustments," and "messing with things in the car, such as radio or hazard lights."

"Teenagers may find the risky behavior exciting or funny, but it is clear from research that adolescent drivers with teenage passengers have a higher risk of crashes," said Katherine Heck, the 4-H Youth Development specialist at UC Davis who co-chaired the study. "The distractions that young drivers told us about may be a reason for their higher risk."

Heck worked with research co-chair Carla Sousa, the UC Cooperative Extension 4-H Youth Development advisor in Tulare County, to examine the ways young passengers distract young drivers. Academic coordinator Ramona Carlos, 4-H Youth Development advisors John Borba in Kern County, Keith Nathaniel in Los Angeles County, and retired advisors David Snell in Fresno County and Joe Camarillo in Madera County also participated in the project.

The researchers surveyed 2,144 seniors from 13 high schools around California in the spring and fall of 2006. The schools varied widely in size and students' socio-economic status. Forty-two percent of the respondents were white, 38 percent Latino, 6 percent African American, 12 percent Asian or Pacific Islander and 3 percent Native American.

Girls were slightly more likely than boys to report being distracted while driving. There were no significant differences across racial or ethnic groups, or urban, rural or suburban schools in the percent of youth who reported distractions. However, students at lower-income schools were significantly less likely to report passenger-related distractions.

The young drivers who said they had been distracted as a driver were also more likely to say they had driven after drinking, had crashed a car, or had ridden with a dangerous driver.

"These findings suggest that high-risk youth driving behaviors tend to cluster," Sousa said. "Some of the young drivers who said they were pestered by passengers may themselves cause distractions when they are in someone else's car."

Many studies have shown that when teenage drivers carry teenage passengers, they have a higher risk of crashes. A review of fatal crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers who did not have an adult in the car found that more than half had a passenger younger than age 20. In 2000, 63 percent of the deaths of 13- to 19-year-old passengers occurred when other teenagers were driving. Carrying two or more teenage passengers and carrying young male passengers further increased the risk of an accident.

"These statistics are behind decisions in many states, including California, to provide teenagers with provisional drivers' licenses when they first begin driving," Sousa said. In California, new drivers under the age of 18 may not carry teenage passengers for the first year after receiving a driver's license. They also may not drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., a period shown to be particularly dangerous for teenage drivers.

Heck said the research results will help parents understand the prevalence of driving with distractions among teenagers. Parent involvement in teen driving is important. Nearly half the students in the survey said their parents were the most helpful resource for them in learning to drive. However, the survey showed room for improvement.

"Many parents seem to be unaware of the graduated driver licensing restrictions that require teens not to drive with their peers in the first 12 months after getting their license," Heck said. "Only a quarter of teens in our survey who had been driving less than a year told us their parents don't allow them to drive with friends in the car."

Teen passengers aren't the only distractions. Overall, nearly 21 percent of the young drivers reported that they had an accident as a driver. Of those, 11 percent said a cell phone was involved, either in use by the teen driver or the driver of the other car.

The reasons for teenage driver risks are twofold, according to Heck. Teenagers have less experience behind the wheel and the adolescent brain isn't fully mature.

"For the majority of teens, their brains simply haven't developed to the point where they can control impulses," Heck said. "Brain development typically continues through adolescence and beyond, particularly when it comes to the circuitry that controls behavior."

The 4-H Youth Development research project also looked into the incidence of teenagers driving without a license. The survey found more than 12 percent of the teenagers regularly drove even though they didn't have a driver's license or permit. Fifty-six percent of unlicensed drivers in the survey were male and 67 percent were Latino. Most attended a school with a lower-income population.

Students who did not have a license or permit gave the researchers a number of explanations, such as having no access to a car, the costs associated with driving, or not being allowed to drive by their parents. Unlicensed drivers were more likely to report being undocumented as a reason, and non-drivers were more likely to say, "I just don't want to."

The 4-H Youth Development program, administered by UC Cooperative Extension in California, provides youth with opportunities for leadership development and practical, hands-on learning on a wide variety of topics. The academics who oversee the program also conduct research on youth development.