BLOOMINGTON, Ill., Jan. 25 A survey of more than 5,000 U.S. teenage drivers shows worrying trends about cell phone use, other distractions and driving while fatigued.The National Teen Driver Survey was conducted by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance, and polled 5,665 teenagers in grades 9-11 across the United States.The poll directly asked What is happening when your peers drive that is making them unsafe, and fatigue topped the list with 75 percent reporting friends driving while not alert. Passenger behavior that distracts the driver was reported by 90 percent of the students, which Dr. Flaura Winston, co-scientific director and founder of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said was alarming.Teens described a driving environment that would be challenging even to experienced drivers, Winston said. Combine this driving environment with lack of training and inexperience and you have a deadly mix.Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show the fatality rate for drivers aged 16 to 19 years, based on miles driven, is four times that of drivers aged 25 to 69 years.Copyright 2007 by UPI
