After-school driving risky for teens

Teen drivers in Utah are more likely to die in a car crash during after-school hours than while driving at night on the weekend, according to an analysis of crash data released Wednesday by AAA.

The analysis showed that 35.7 percent of the 42 fatal crashes involving Utah teen drivers in 2004 happened between 3 and 6 p.m. Data from the Utah Highway Safety Office showed that 26 percent of teen-driver fatalities in 2004 happened between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.

Rolayne Fairclough, spokeswoman for AAA of Utah, said that the data should be a reminder to parents to watch and provide rules for young drivers — perhaps beyond what Utah's graduated licencing laws require.

The AAA analysis of data from 2002 to 2005 showed that 1,100 teens nationwide died during the after-school hours. Some 1,237 died while driving at night on the weekend. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that about 4,000 teen drivers are killed each year in traffic accidents.

During the 2006 Legislative session, Utah lawmakers passed a bill that tightened the state's graduated licencing law. In the past, teenage drivers could have friends in the car with parental permission. The bill removed that provision.

Utah's graduated licencing law requires that teenagers have 40 hours of experience with an adult driver before receiving a license. Once they receive a license, they cannot have friends in the car for six months. For the first year that teen drivers have a license, they cannot drive at night, except for school or agricultural purposes.

Fairclough said she isn't sure what could be done to address the number of after-school fatalities in Utah, at least from a legislative standpoint.

"I think it's basically more of a heads-up for parents," she said.

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