Almost 60% of teen crashes in the US occur due to distractions behind the wheel, according to a study by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

The study also found a disturbing trend that shows texting and social media use are on the rise amongst teen drivers.

Over the last five years, more than 5,000 people have been killed in crashes involving teen drivers during the '100 deadliest days', which is the period starting from Memorial Day.

"This new research shows that distraction continues to be one of the leading causes of crashes for teen drivers."

The number of crashes by teen drivers grows significantly during the summer because they drive more during this time of year.

In the past five years, an average of 1,022 people died every year in crashes involving teen drivers.

AAA's new follow-up report this year is part of an eight-year research project into crash videos of teen drivers.

It collaborated with researchers at the University of Iowa to analyse the moments leading up to a crash in more than 2,200 videos captured from in-car dash cameras.

The latest report compared new crash videos with those captured from 2007 -2012.

This new report found consistent trends, 15% of crashes occured due to talking or attending to other passengers, 12% of crashes happened due to talking, texting or operating a cell phone and 11% crashes occured due to attending to or looking at something inside the vehicle.

AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety research director Jurek Grabowski said: “Every day during the summer driving season, an average of 10 people die as a result of injuries from a crash involving a teen driver.

“This new research shows that distraction continues to be one of the leading causes of crashes for teen drivers.

"By better understanding how teens are distracted on the road, we can better prevent deaths throughout the 100 deadliest days and the rest of the year.”