­Latest CT Tragedy Monday—

Study Outlines Risks For Teen Passengers

ORANGE — Connecticut’s latest tragedy involving teen drivers happened Monday evening as two teenage friends from Orange died after a violent wreck on the Wilbur Cross Parkway. The incident occurred on the heels of a new national report on the dangers teen passengers face in teen driving-related crashes.

Governor M. Jodi Rell recently convened a teen driving task force comprised of law enforcement, transportation, education, and public health officials to craft information and programs to combat the recent spate of teen driving incidents across the state.

According to an Associated Press report, car crashes are the leading cause of death for tweens and teens, and a new study outlines some of the most dangerous circumstances: riding unbuckled with new teen drivers on high-speed roads. These were the three biggest risk factors contributing to car crash deaths for passengers aged 8 to 17, the study found.

While young drivers have higher chances of dying, the six-year study focused on nearly 10,000 children passengers who were killed in car crashes. More than half — 54 percent — were riding with a teen driver. Drivers younger than 16 were the most dangerous.

Also, more than three-quarters of the fatal crashes occurred on roads with speed limits higher than 45 mph, and nearly two-thirds of the young passengers were not wearing seat belts, the researchers found. Other dangerous circumstances for young passengers included drivers who had been drinking alcohol, male teen drivers, and driving on weekends.

The message for parents is simple and sobering: Don’t let your teen ride with a teen driver who has less than a year’s experience driving. Insist on seat belts. And practice ways teens can resist peer pressure to ride with other teens, said Dr Flaura Koplin Winston of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the study’s lead author.

“Knowing the risks can help parents and teens make smart decisions about which rides are safe, and which ones are off limits,” said Dr Winston, the founder of the hospital’s Center for Injury Research and Prevention.

The researchers examined national data on serious car crashes including those resulting in death between 2000 and 2005. During that time, 2.5 million children aged 8 to 17 were involved in crashes and 9,807 died.

The risk of death for kids riding with drivers aged 16 to 19 was at least double that of those riding with drivers aged 25 and older. There were about two deaths per 1,000 crashes for young passengers with 25-plus drivers, versus more than four deaths in the younger group.

The study, conducted with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., appears in the March edition of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. State Farm funded the research.

Recent federal data indicate that the percentage of US 16-year-olds with driver’s licenses has fallen since 1998 (from roughly 44 percent to about 30 percent), during a time when restrictions on teen driving generally increased.

But no states have all the restrictions recommended by State Farm, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Philadelphia hospital.

For example, they say the minimum age for a learner’s permits should be 16. But nine states grant them to 14-year-olds and at least 30 others give them to 15-year-olds. Also, the groups say drivers younger than 18 should not be allowed to have more than one teen passenger without adult supervision, but only 34 states have that restriction, according to data provided by the hospital and State Farm.

Dr Winston, the study author, said that means teen passengers and their parents have to take precautions.

In the latest incident here in Connecticut, State police say two teenagers died after their car struck a highway sign and a tree on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Orange.

Authorities identified the victims as 18-year-old Francesk Zefi and 17-year-old Salvatore Semmonella, both of Orange. Zefi was named as the driver.

Troopers say the car was traveling south on the parkway near Exit 58 when it went off the road shortly after 9:30 Monday night. The cause of the crash is unknown, but State Police are investigating.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)