Kevin Latham, 17, of Shamong died Sunday in a single-vehicle accident last Sunday in Manchester Township, Ocean County. His death marked the first Burlington County teenager to die in a motor vehicle accident this year.

Seven other teens died last year, among them two Moorestown High School students who were killed in separate car accidents within one week.

If that wasn't sobering enough, AAA released a report on Friday estimating the economic cost of teenage traffic accidents at $34 billion nationally and $558 million in New Jersey.

New Jersey, however, could soon institute several measures intended to reduce the number of teenage traffic accidents.

A special task force appointed by the governor last year to devise new methods to prevent New Jersey teenagers from dying on roads completed its yearlong review of the state's driving laws and licensing requirements. It issued its recommendations late last month.

The recommendations from the Teen Driver Study Commission, include:

* Amending New Jersey's graduated driver's license law to require a sticker or other identifier be placed on a vehicle when operated by a probationary driver.

* Extending the learner's permit phase for all new drivers between the ages of 16 and 20 from a minimum of six months to a year.

* Requiring a parent or guardian to attend a teen driver orientation program with his or her child prior to making application for a learner's permit.

* Providing penalties for young passengers as well as drivers who violate license restrictions, such as the limit on the numbers of passengers, use of cell phones and legal driving hours for probationary drivers.

Most of the recommendations would require amendments to existing laws, said Pam Fischer, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety and chairwoman of the Teen Driver Commission. She said talks are already under way with the governor and key legislators about legislation to implement some of the recommendations.

“Our hope is that we'll be able to get this done by the end of the year,” Fischer said Friday. “I'm very optimistic.”

State Assemblyman Joseph Malone, R-30th of Bordentown City, said he would push his fellow lawmakers to make legislating the recommendations a priority.

“Everyone has to be clearheaded and needs to start thinking about the safety of these children because the reality is they don't think of it themselves,” Malone said.

Motor vehicle safety advocates such as AAA are also lobbying for quick passage of the recommendations.

The commission's report noted that teen drivers are involved in car crashes every nine minutes in New Jersey. Forty-eight teenage drivers and 19 teen passengers were killed in car accidents in 2006.

Nationally, nearly 7,000 drivers ages 16-20 were killed in traffic accidents last year, making traffic accidents the leading cause of teenage deaths, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In addition, AAA's report found that the economic losses of teenage accidents are huge. Among its New Jersey findings were that accidents involving teenage drivers resulted in 4,859 injuries, $38 million in medical expenses, $186 million in work loss, $60 million in property damage and $192 million in quality of life loss.

The report's findings and analysis were based on accidents that occurred in 2006 involving drivers ages 15 to 17.

“Our hope is that as a state New Jersey moves very quickly to implement the recommendations outlined by the Teen Driver Study Commission,” said David Weinstein, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic and a member of the commission.

“From whatever angle you look at it, the cost of these crashes is staggering,” Weinstein said.

Fischer said the AAA study demonstrated the return of dollars invested to improve safety.

“We must invest in improving how we educate, train and license our youngest drivers. That return on out investment will not only be marked in dollars saved, but in fewer lives lost,” Fischer said.

She identified the recommendation that parents be required to attend a course on the state graduated license program as being particularly important.

“One thing we heard a lot about is that parents aren't as involved as they should be,” Fischer said. “They are the first line of defense. We need them to understand what the rules are and how they can be engaged in keeping their child safe.”

Number of crashes: 55,792

Number of deaths: 48 drivers, 19 passengers

Number of injuries: 4,859

Cost in medical expenses: $38 million

Cost in work loss: $186 million

Cost in property damage: $60 million

Cost in quality of life loss: $192 million

Other related costs: $82 million

Source: New Jersey Teen Driver Study Commission report and AAA-Mid-Atlantic