Cody James Murphy, 17, of Newbury Park, Desiree Mooney, 18, of Camarillo, and Danielle Barrett, 16, of Fillmore, are teens whose recent deaths in traffic accidents will be long mourned.

Multiply that overwhelming grief in this community by 3,500 teens killed in vehicle crashes in the U.S. in 2007 and we get a grasp of the problem.

Then, multiply the injured teens. Four in the crash that claimed Cody's life April 8 on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Three in the crash that claimed Desiree's life April 20 on Highway 33 in Ventura. Three in the crash that claimed Danielle's life Thursday on Grand Avenue, north of Fillmore. Four Buena High students hurt Friday when their car rolled several times in Ventura. Three-hundred-thousand teens injured in U.S. traffic accidents in 2007.

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Those numbers are reason enough a safe-driving workshop in Ventura for teens and their parents should be packed Thursday.

We applaud the California Highway Patrol for offering the workshop before graduation season — a time when teenage drivers are particularly at risk of being involved in a crash.

The biggest risk factors for teen drivers are riding unbuckled, with new drivers, on roads with speed limits over 45 mph, according to a study published in the March edition of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, reported by Associated Press.

Other risk factors are alcohol, male drivers and weekends.

AP quoted the study's lead author, Dr. Flaura Koplin Winston of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: "The message for parents is simple and sobering: Don't let your teen ride with a teen driver who has less than a year's experience driving. Insist on seat belts and practice ways teens can resist peer pressure to ride with other teens."

This study bore out what others have revealed: Passengers in vehicles with drivers, ages 16 to 19, are doubly at risk of death than those riding with drivers, ages 25 and older.

California law recognizes that reality with its graduated driver's license. Since 1997, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles:

— Teenagers who have had their driver's license less than one year may not drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. unless the driver is accompanied by a licensed driver, age 25 or older. There may be exceptions for a job, school, a family need, or a medical emergency.

— Teenagers who have held their driver's license less than one year may not transport any passengers younger than 20 (except family members) without having someone 25 or older in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.

And, while adults are getting used to the no-handheld-cell phones-while-driving rule that goes into effect in California in July, teens under 18 are completely prohibited from using a cell phone — even with a headset — or any other mobile-service device, such as a PDA, laptop, pager, walkie-talkie, etc.

Those who cannot make Thursday's driving workshop should hop online to the DMV site on "Driving Tips for Teen Drivers," noted in the accompanying box.

Realizing the risks and noting the tips could well save a life.