A new study shows a child riding with a teen driver has an increased risk of being killed or injured in an accident.

State Farm Insurance and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have been studying teen driving. Today they released a study focusing on more than 45,000 crashes involving 8-to-17-year-old passengers.

Here is the entire release fromo State Farm:

If your child is riding with a teen driver their risk of being killed or injured in an accident goes up. Conducted as part of an on-going research collaboration between The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm Insurance Companies®, , a study released today examined 45,560 crashes involving 8- to 17-year-old passengers. Between 2000 and 2005, 9,807 passengers in this age group died
in crashes.

"Long before these children ever receive a learner's permit, they begin to exhibit a pattern that looks more like the high fatality rates we see for teen drivers" says Flaura Koplin-Winston, M.D., Ph.D., founder and co-scientific director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at CHOP.

CHOP researchers studied 10,000 passenger deaths, more than half (54.4 percent) were riding with a driver under age 20; nearly two-thirds were unrestrained; and more than three-quarters of the crashes occurred on roads with posted speed limits above 45-miles- per-hour. Alcohol was also a factor in one-fifth of the fatal crashes. Previous research has shown that as children grow into adolescence, they are more likely to ride in cars with drivers other than their parents, such as classmates, friends, or older siblings.

"Riding with drivers younger than 16 years old, not wearing seat belts, and riding on higher speed roads are the three biggest factors contributing to an older child being killed in a crash," says Dr. Winston. "Knowing the risks can help parents and teens make smart decisions about which rides are safe, and which ones are off limits."

In addition, Dr. Winston says that changes in policy, coupled with
enforcement, can help to protect teen drivers and their passengers. Optimal graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws that emphasize a lengthened learner's phase beginning at 16, as well as nighttime driving and passenger restrictions during the intermediate phase can help reduce the risk for teens. Primary seat belt laws for all occupants to at least age 18 are also recommended.

After more than 50 deaths in the Chicago area in 2006, teens in Illinois are focused on keeping their classmates safer too. For a second year in a row, Harry D. Jacobs High School in Algonquin is a finalist in State Farm's Project Ignition program.