Maybe for the first 30 days, they should be called crash-test teens.

A new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows that teen drivers are approximately 50 percent more likely to crash in the first month of driving than they are during the rest of their first full year.

"The research shows that teen-crash risks are higher as soon as teens begin to drive on their own, and that parents and driver educators could do a better job of helping teens develop the appropriate skills before they begin driving independently," said AAA Idaho spokesman Dave Carlson.

According to researchers who analyzed the crashes of new drivers in North Carolina between 2001-2008, teens are prone to three common mistakes during the first month of driving unsupervised and on their own: Failure to reduce speed, inattention (cell phones, anyone?), and failure to yield.

Those three mistakes accounted for 57 percent of all crashes in which teens were at least partially responsible.

The crash data suggest that some types of crashes, like those involving left-hand turns, occur relatively frequently during the first few months of driving, but fall off rapidly once teens master the appropriate driving skills.

A related AAA Foundation Study may hit closer to home for parents.

Using in-vehicle cameras to monitor teens when they were learning to drive with parents, and later, during a six-month period when they were on their own, researchers discovered that teens were more likely to exhibit judgment errors related to their inexperience and failure to anticipate changes in the traffic environment.

While the vast majority of driving caught on camera was uneventful when teens were driving without supervision, the in-car camera footage shows that there were more instances of texting, horseplay, running red lights and hard braking once mom and dad weren't around.

In addition, passengers were present more frequently once supervised parental driving was completed.

Carlson, of AAA Idaho, said, "In supervised settings, it's also fair to say that most of the driving involved routine trips on familiar roads, and teens were not practicing varied skills in challenging conditions."

Idaho teens crash data

An analysis of Idaho crash data by AAA Idaho shows there are some 16,000 fewer licensed Idaho teen drivers - ages 15-18 - now than in 1997.

That drop is likely accountable for much of the near 50 percent decline in the number of fatal and injury crashes from 1997, when there were 2,765, to 2010, when there were 1,466 such crashes for this age group.

Still, teens historically have been and continue to be the most over-represented age group in crashes, based on the size of the driving population that they represent.

In fact, the crash involvement rate for drivers ages 15-18 increased from 2.55 in 1997 to 2.75 in 2010. That means teen drivers were 2.75 times as likely to be injured or killed in 2010, compared with 1997 when the rate was 2.55. Idaho's youngest drivers, age 15, have the highest involvement rate in crashes, and the figure has exceeded a 3.3 rate for the past five years.

In the "all-crash" category, 15-year-old drivers' involvement rate in 2009 skyrocketed to 4.1, compared with 1.3 a year after Idaho's graduated licensing law went into effect in 2001.

AAA Idaho speculates that a drop in the total number of crashes may mean more teens are waiting longer to get their licenses.

But the higher crash involvement rate may reflect how distractions like cell phones and texting are challenging the youngest drivers behind the wheel.

"The value of the North Carolina research and the Idaho crash analysis is that driver educators, parents and teens may see there's much room to improve the driver education and driver licensing processes," Carlson said.

It could challenge lawmakers to look for ways to improve driver training and to make sure we're adequately enforcing the laws we already have, AAA said.

The results may encourage parents to prepare their young drivers for independent driving practice under a range of progressively more challenging conditions.

AAA suggests the following steps to parents of young teen drivers:

n Practice, practice, practice, even, and perhaps especially, when your teen first gets his or her license. Master the basic skills necessary in a variety of road and weather conditions.

n Keep passengers out of your new driver's car.

n Research shows crash risks multiply with the number of passengers. Set limits and enforce them consistently.

n Limit night driving since reduced visibility makes night driving riskier for all age groups.

n Use practice time during the six-month supervised period to give your teen at least the 10 hours of night driving required.

And keep setting rules, AAA said. Set and enforce rules above and beyond your state laws.

Set rules for inclement weather, on highways, in cities and for distractions including texting and cell phones.

The agency recommends get all the information possible about Idaho's licensing process and what parents and teens can do together at TeenDriving.AAA.com.

"During this week's national Teen Driver Safety Week, it's AAA's intent to provide useful information which will lessen the incidence of teen crashes," Carlson said.

Information about the two AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety studies: www.aaafoundation.org