An analysis of over 800 crashes involving teen drivers revealed that most were caused by three common errors:

• Not being able to respond to hazards due to lack of scanning surroundings far head and on side of the vehicle.

• Going too fast for road conditions (such as a curvey street or lots of traffic).

• Being distracted by something inside or outside the vehicle.

Researchers found that poor weather, vehicle malfunction, aggressive driving or drowsiness were not primary factors in most crashes.

The study was released this week by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Sate Farm Insurance Companies.

"Laws and policies that address distractions by limiting the number of peer passengers and prohibiting cell phone use among novice drivers will help reduce crash rates, but will only address part of the problem," said study co-author and emergency pediatrician Dr. Dennis Durbin. "Many crashes will still occur due to the inability of teen drivers to detect and respond to a hazard in time. Formal teen driver training and parent-teen practice drives should focus on building scanning and hazard awareness skills."

For more information, visit www.TeenDriverSource.org.