According to the findings of a new study carried out by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and University of Iowa researchers, distracted driving among teenage drivers in a much bigger problem than previously perceived.

The study, based on a comprehensive analysis of 1,700 crash video, has found that nearly 60 percent of ‘moderate’ to ‘severe’ vehicle crashes involving teen drivers occurred because of distracted driving. The figure underscores four-fold more distracted driving-related teen crashes than the official estimates earlier released on the basis of crash data garnered from police reports.

For the study conducted to analyze distracted driving behavior of teen drivers, nearly 1,700 crash videos were dissected, frame by frame, by University of Iowa researchers. The data analyzed by the researchers was collected from teenagers across the US over a period of six years.

Going by the findings of the study, the most common form of distracted driving leading to crashes involving teen drivers was interaction with passengers; followed by cellphone use.

In reference to the findings of the study, Iowa State Patrol Trooper Bob Conrad said: “I can think of different teen crashes in cars. I can think of one where I seen three out of four teenagers die in a car, and distractions — the messing around in the car — the younger mentality, the younger drivers something think they are bulletproof and they are not bulletproof.”