Officials cite the fact that the most significant drop in fatal car crashes involving teen drivers in the state occurred from 2007, when the economy began to decline, to 2008.
Car fatalities involving teen drivers in 2007 numbered 130 and fell to the low of 67 in 2008, according to the federal report.
Statistics compiled by the California Highway Patrol also reflect a similar drop – from 134 in 2007 to 77 in 2008.
The number of deaths nationally linked to teen driver accidents fell from about 2,200 in 2004 to 1,400 in 2008, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
The CDC said it had taken an interest in the issue because car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, and accidents while driving cause 36 percent of all deaths in this age group.
The new report examined accidents with drivers who were 16 or 17, and it covers the period from 2004 to 2008, the last year for which driver fatality statistics are available.
California also records accidents in which the teen driver has been at fault. According to the state, the driver was at fault in 111 of the 158 car fatalities involving a teen driver in 2004. In 2008, of the 77 car fatalities involving a teen driver, the driver was at fault in 56 crashes.
Several factors might explain how more lives are being saved, officials said, among them safer cars and tougher drivers license laws limiting when teens can drive.
California, New Jersey and New York had very low rates of teens involved in accidents, the report said.
"The relatively low rates of crash involvement for young drivers in New Jersey and New York might be related to licensing policies," the report said.
"New Jersey is the only state with a minimum licensing age of 17 years; in New York City, the minimum age is 18 years, except for persons who take a state-approved driver education course and meet other requirements, who may be licensed at aged 17 years."
In California, teens taking a state-approved driver education course and meeting other requirements can receive a learner's permit at the age of 15 and get a restricted license at 16.
"Tougher laws on teen licensing have essentially raised the driving age," said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an Arlington, Va.-based research group funded by auto insurance companies.
"Many 16-year-olds are not on the road any more with full privileged driver licenses. Tougher laws have taken some of the riskier drivers off the road – and the less exposure, the fewer cashes."
Wyoming had the highest death rate in car crashes involving teen drivers, the CDC reported.
Rader said graduated drivers licensing programs, as they are called, began appearing in 1996 and now 49 states have them. Some are more restrictive than others, which may be one reason why death rates vary by state, Rader said.
Wyoming has a graduated drivers licensing program, but authorities consider it somewhat lax. For example, younger teens are allowed to drive until 11 p.m., while other states force them off the roads starting at 9 p.m.
"Graduated license laws that restrict when a teen can get a license and place restrictions like no night driving after a certain time or no driving with other teens in the car have proven to be effective," said Rader.
"Their aim has been to take teens out of most dangerous driving situations, and in many states they're succeeding."
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