Sept. 29 Daily News editorial

Car crashes remain the leading cause of deaths for American teenagers, killing more than 5,000 each year. And teens with their own cars or free access to one are much more likely to get in crashes than those who share use of a vehicle.

This finding is in a study by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with funding by State Farm Insurance Co, according to Associated Press medical writer Lindsey Tanner. The study, released Friday, is one of series of studies on teen drivers by Children’s Hospital and State Farm over the past several years. Dr. Niranjan Karnik, a University of Chicago specialist in adolescent mental health, told Tanner that the research underscores the importance of both appropriate parenting and the graduated licensing laws Washington and many other states have enacted.

Indeed, the Children’s Hospital-State Farm studies add to a growing body of evidence that says Washington’s 2001 intermediate driver’s licence law is among the smarter legislative accomplishments witnessed in Olympia in recent times. That said, the law could be improved.

Washington’s graduated licensing law stipulates that new, 16- and 17-year-old drivers cannot have a passenger under the age of 20, except for family members, during the first six months of licensed driving. Until the age of 18, they cannot carry more than three non-family, teenage passengers.

Tightening that restriction on teenage passengers might well make the roads safer for teenagers and all others. Children’s Hospital researchers concluded in study conducted last year that one teenage passenger with a teen driver doubles the risk of a fatal crash. The risk is five times greater with two or more teen passengers.

Inexperienced drivers apparently are easily distracted. Based on miles driven, teenagers have a fatality rate four times higher than drivers aged 25-69 due to in-car distractions, according to the 2008 study. That study recommended that drivers younger than 18 be restricted to no more than one teenage passenger without adult supervision. Washington lawmakers would do well to either adopt that recommendation or simply prohibit teen passengers, other than a family member, in vehicles with drivers younger than 18 at the wheel.

This tougher passenger restriction wouldn’t set well with many — probably most — Washington teenagers, we know. But statistics kept by the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission suggest that stronger driving restrictions are appropriate for newly licensed teens. While teenagers make up 7 percent of drivers statewide, they account for 14 percent of traffic fatalities and 20 of collisions.

The No. 1 killer of American teenagers us in-car distractions, according to Children’s Hospital researchers. It would seem only sensible to remove one of the more serious in-car distractions for teenage drivers — other teenagers.