The University of Otago study of 893 teenagers with restricted licences also showed more than 80% broke licence conditions, with 81% admitting to driving with passengers while unsupervised and 65% driving unsupervised at night. Of the 893 teenagers, 218 had been involved in crashes.
The research, by three staff from the Otago University's injury prevention research unit and one University of Auckland staff member, also highlighted the important role parents had to play in young people learning to drive. Those in the study with parents who knew little about licence conditions were more likely to break the rules.
University of Otago second-year law student George Lello (19), who is on a restricted licence, said the results did not surprise him. Young people, including University of Otago students, did not take the rules that seriously, Mr Lello said.
''It's a bit of 'if I feel like it, I will follow the rules'.''
He said he had flouted the rules before, but did not like to, as he felt ''pretty strongly'' about road safety.
''I get the impression that some people don't really get the idea that they could potentially cause a lot of damage if they stuff up.''
He did not believe parental oversight made much difference to the way young people drove and that it was more about an individual's attitude.
More should be done to make people on restricted licences safer on the road, he said.
''It would be cool if there was some kind of course that we had to do which made more people aware of the road rules.''
