Novice drivers tend to have the highest risk for causing a serious car accident. This is not such a great surprise. Anyone who tries something new is bound to make some mistakes. When these mistakes are made behind the wheel of a powerful car, even small mistakes can quickly become fatal.

A new study found that teens that drive with jerky tendencies such as making sharp turns or slamming on the breaks at intersections were more likely to cause a car accident. Behaviors like these helped predict their chance of causing or nearly avoiding an accident a few weeks after observation of their driving habits.

The study used cameras to watch the teen driving behaviors. The data was sent to computers that measured the "elevated gravitational-force events," otherwise known as g-force events, to help make the predictions.

There were 42 teen drivers who participated in the study by allowing cameras to be installed in their cars. Approximately 68,000 teen driving trips were recorded in the study. Of those trips, 37 resulted in accidents and another 242 near crashes were recorded. There was a strong correlation between the rate of g-force events and the number of crashes or near crashes.

Teens in Santa Rosa must drive under the supervision of an adult before they are allowed to drive on their own. Driving permits provide time for parents to correct some of these bad behaviors before they become risky habits. By instructing novice drivers of the importance of gentle driving, parents can help reduce their children's risk for causing an accident.

Source: Fox News, "Risky starts and stops predict teen crashes," Feb. 21, 2012