For decades now, the conventional wisdom has been that teenagers are safer when they're driving larger vehicles, like sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks, than smaller passenger vehicles. A new study out of the University of Texas turns that theory on its head.

The results of the study were published in the Accident Analysis and Prevention journal.

The study, conducted by a professor of transportation engineering at the University of Texas, indicates among other things, that a teenage motorist between age of 16 and 17 driving a pickup truck, is at a much higher risk of injury than someone driving a car. The reasons for this don't seem to be so hard to understand. A pickup truck has a powerful engine, and being at the helm of a vehicle with a powerful engine may increase aggressive driving behaviors among teenage motorists. Besides, pickup trucks may not come with the same kind of advanced safety features that passenger vehicles do.

The researchers also came upon several other facts of interest to Los Angeles pickup truck accident lawyers. For instance, they found that driving with one passenger placed a teen driver at a higher risk of accidents than driving with two or more passengers. That also flies in the face of other theories that have long held that a teen driver’s risk of an accident increases with the number of passengers in his car.

The study also found that teen drivers seem to be the most aggressive during the morning rush hour. Further, even a difference of one year seems to make a huge difference to the driving abilities of teen motorists. 16 and 17-year-olds are more likely to be involved in accidents than 18-year-olds.

More than half of all teen-accident related injuries occurred while the motorists were traveling to school. That is consistent with existing research indicating that teenagers’ natural body rhythms leave them sleepy in the early hours after dawn.