The study found that in 2000, 4,700 drivers ages 16 to 19 were killed.
The figure for fatally injured drivers ages 16 to 59 was 41percentt.
The study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a nonprofit research organization financed by auto insurers, found that drivers ages 70 to 74 who had accidents were twice as likely to die as were drivers ages 30 to 59.
Under this system, drivers ages 15 to 17 are allowed to drive only with a designated adult for a year.
The frequency of collision claims in the institute's database is highest for drivers ages 15-19, at nearly 70 percent above average.
Compared with middle-age drivers (ages 35 to 54), drivers 75 or older have far higher death rates per mile traveled.
By comparison, the decline for drivers ages 70 to 74 was 0.55 fatal crashes per 100,000 licensed drivers, and for those over 80 it was 1.33.
Drivers ages 18 to 20 were up to four times more likely to have an inattention-related accident than older drivers.
The study used 19 drivers ages 25 to 36, and 17 drivers ages 55 to 65. "The stopping distance for younger drivers barely varied in the presence of the distracter," the study found, referring to the phone on the flat-panel display.
The study of more than 2,000 young drivers ages 15 to 21 was conducted purely online, as many young people do not have wired telephone lines, over a week in March.
Six classes race each week: four-cylinder front-wheel drive, four-cylinder rear-wheel drive, V6 front-wheel drive, modified, street stock and a junior combined class for drivers ages 13 to 16. Racing starts at noon.
