Most teenagers and some parents won't like it, but lawmakers in Harrisburg are considering a bill that would add to the restrictions placed on "junior drivers." The bill would limit the number of passengers they could carry when they drive.

And even if some teens and parents are unhappy with such a plan, it's a common-sense, life-saving measure that already is in place in 39 other states. It should be the law in Pennsylvania too.

Accident statistics and casual observation support the idea that teenage drivers are more likely to have an accident when they are driving with other teens. A gang of young friends in a car with an inexperienced teenage driver can be a serious distraction or, worse, offer motivation for the young driver to speed or engage in other risky driving maneuvers.

The proposed bill, which is being considered by the House Transportation Committee, would limit junior drivers, those 16 and 17, to carrying only one minor passenger at a time. Younger siblings and live-in relatives would be exempt from the restriction.

Some teens are likely to object to the proposed law, saying it would cause inconvenience and even financial hardship. But increased highway safety and fewer serious accidents should trump convenience.

A study by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia found that a teenage driver's risk of being involved in a fatal crash increases exponentially when two or more teen passengers are in the car. A teenage driver's risk of a fatal crash is five times higher with teen passengers than without. Even a single teenage passenger increases the teen driver's risk of an accident by 50 percent.

The National Safety Council reports that younger drivers are more likely to engage in risky driving, such as speeding, swerving between lanes and running red lights when there are other teens in the car.

For the record, the state Department of Transportation supports the two different House bills that would impose passenger restrictions on Pennsylvania's younger teenage drivers.

The conclusions of the various survey results and statistical studies are confirmed by simply watching the behavior of many teen drivers out cruising with friends through town or on their way to or from the local mall. And many older, and now wiser, drivers will remember their own risky behaviors as teenage drivers — and rightly support the proposed passenger restrictions.

Though some teenagers might feel as though they are being targeted or punished, the additional restrictions being considered are just another logical extension of the graduated- license concept, which affords teenage drivers more privileges as their age and driving experience increase. The passenger restrictions in place in other states can be credited with saving lives — of teen drivers themselves and other drivers and passengers on the road.

Restricting the number of passengers in teen-driven cars is simple common sense, based on empirical data as well as observations of teenage drivers with a car full of friends.