That moment when a newly licensed teenager hops behind the wheel of a car and drives away. 

But allowing young people to travel in cars with their mates can have deadly consequences.

So far this year, 18 drivers aged 17-25 have been killed in NSW, compared with 87 drivers in all other age groups.

Research shows the first month of driving with P-plates is the riskiest, compared with L-platers who are among the safest drivers. 

P1 drivers represent 3 per cent of the 6 million drivers on NSW roads, but they make up more than 20 per cent of all fatalities.

The good news is Australia's graduated driving licence system has significantly reduced deaths and injuries.

But there is one area that could further reduce the toll.

Michelle Williams’s 17-year-old son was killed when the car he was a passenger in veered off the road and smashed into a telegraph pole on the Central Coast.

The driver was 17 at the time and had his P-plates for two weeks.

Ms Williams has called for changes that would ban groups of teenagers from riding in cars together.

She wants the existing 11pm to 5am limit to be extended across 24 hours. 

Her plea is backed by Associate Professor Teresa Senserrick, an expert on novice drivers with the University of NSW's Transport and Road Safety (TARS) Centre.

A report she wrote estimates this change could lead to a 20 per cent reduction of fatal crashes among provisional drivers and a 40 to 50 per cent reduction in all night crashes.

The NSW government is looking at this issue as part of its Future Road Safety Transport Plan.

As with any legislative change, careful thought needs to go into how to implement such a shift, and the needs of non-metropolitan drivers, who have limited access to alternative means of transport, must be considered.

But, for the sake of the Williams family and the scores of other families who are forced to live with the deadly aftermath of allowing young drivers to transport their friends, we urge that this issue be given urgent priority.

For their own safety, young people might have to wait just a little longer before they get to take their mates for a spin.