Fatalities jumped 19% in the first half of 2012 compared with the first half of 2011. 
 
 Twenty-five states saw an increase in fatalities among teen drivers. (Photo: Alex Brandon, AP) Story Highlights 240 highway fatalities of 16- and 17-year-old drivers through the first half of 2012 
 
 Could lead to second straight year of increases in deaths of teen drivers 
 
 25 states reported increases, 17 had drops and eight states and D.C. had no change 
 
 Deaths of teen drivers jumped 19% in the first six months of last year, more than double the percentage increase for overall traffic deaths, according to a new report. 
 
 There were 240 highway fatalities of 16- and 17-year-old drivers through the first half of 2012, up from 202 for the same period a year earlier, says the Governors Highway Safety Association, based on preliminary data from its members. Overall, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration projects that all traffic deaths were up 8% for the period. 
 
 If the numbers hold true for the second half of 2012, it would mark the second straight year of increases in deaths of teen drivers. In 2011, road deaths of 16- and 17-year-old drivers rose 3%, ending eight straight years of declines. 
 
 Allan Williams, an independent highway safety consultant who compiled the GHSA report, says the spike in teen driver fatalities likely reflects two factors: the improving economy and a leveling off of the safety benefits from graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs. 
 
 "The economy has a lot to do with highway deaths in general," says Williams, former chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "It has even more of an effect on young people, who have less disposable income" and tend to drive less in a downturn. 
 
 He also speculates that the safety impact of graduated driver licensing laws, in which young people gain more driving privileges as they gain experience, might have waned. "We've gotten a lot of mileage out of GDL, but a lot of states still have programs that are somewhat weak," Williams says. "We need to pay more attention to the things that we know work." 
 
 Through June 2012, deaths of 16-year-old drivers increased 24%, to 107; fatalities of 17-year-olds rose 15% to 133, for a cumulative jump of 19%. 
 
 Twenty-five states reported increases, 17 had drops and eight states and the District of Columbia had no change. 
 
 "That certainly is alarming," says John Ulczycki, vice president of the National Safety Council, which says overall road deaths rose about 5% in 2012. "There still are no states that have what we consider the best-practice (GDL) laws. Some states could do a little more, and some states could do a lot more." 
 
 "In my state of Tennessee, we have worked extensively to keep teen drivers safe," says GHSA chairman Kendell Poole, director of the state's Governor's Highway Safety Office. "Despite our efforts, teens remain our most vulnerable population. With the advances in technology, we suspect distracted driving deaths among teen drivers are rising." 
 
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 More teen drivers are dying in traffic accidents. 
 
 A state-by-state look at teen driver fatalities by the Governors Highway Safety Assn. found that 16- and 17-year-old driver deaths increased from 202 to 240 during the first half of 2012, a 19% jump from the same period in the previous year. 
 
 It marks a reversal in declining teen driver death rates attributed to the introduction of graduated license systems in many states. Such systems place restrictions – such as the number of passengers allowed in a vehicle - on teen driver licenses that are gradually lifted as the teens age and gain more driving experience. 
 
 The governors' association said the increase mirrored projections by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in which all traffic deaths increased by 8% during the same period. That’s attributed to increased driving that is a result of an improving U.S. economy. 
 
 However, the governors’ group said it was “particularly concerning that 16- and 17-year-old driver deaths appear to have increased at an even greater rate.” 
 
 "Based on 2011 final data and the early look at 2012, it appears that we are headed the wrong direction when it comes to deaths of 16- and 17-year-old drivers," said Allan Williams, the former chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and author of the study. 
 
 Still, even with the increase, driver death rates in the age group are about half of what they were a decade ago and remain at a historically low level. 
 
 "We are still at a much better place than we were 10 or even five years earlier,” Williams said. “However, the goal is to strive toward zero deaths, so our aim would be that these deaths should go down every year." 
 
 ALSO: 
 
 Car crash deaths on the rise 
 
 Auto sales strong even as gas prices rise 
 
 Lawmaker crackdown on distracted teen drivers 
 
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– An improving economy means more cars on the road, and traffic safety officials expected the number of deaths among young drivers to increase as a result. But not this much: The number of 16- and 17-year-old drivers killed in traffic accidents jumped 19% in the first six months of 2012, says a new report picked up by USA Today. That's double the rate of the overall population. Barring a remarkable turnaround when the stats come in for the final six months of the year, 2012 will mark the second straight year of an increase in deaths in the age group—2011 saw a 3% spike after eight years of declines. One expert thinks gains realized from "graduated driver licensing" programs, in which states give teen drivers more freedom as they gain experience, are beginning to level off. Before blaming texting or other versions of distracted driving, note that death rates for teen drivers are still about half of what they were a decade ago, reports the Los Angeles Times. In all, 240 16- and 17-year-olds were killed on the road from January through June of last year.