"It is a difficult one because they are driving their intoxicated friends home but the consequences if they crash far outweigh that."
Mr Owen said parents who knowingly allowed their children to break their licence conditions were also being ticketed by police for "aiding and abetting".
A University of Otago study found 81 per cent of teen drivers admitted carrying passengers when they were not supposed to. A driver on a restricted licence is not allowed to carry passengers without a full licensed driver in the car and they are not allowed to drive between 10pm and 5am.
Tauranga Boys' College principal Robert Mangan said the school had a strict policy for students wanting to bring their cars to school and anyone caught breaking the law had their privileges revoked for a time. A regular reoffender may be referred to police.
Dr Rebecca Brookland from the University of Otago's Injury Prevention Research Unit said the study was undertaken with almost 4000 newly licensed drivers. She said low parental knowledge of licence conditions, parents placing fewer rules on their teenagers' driving and parents having had a crash themselves were all associated with increased odds of their teenager having an adverse outcome.
AA Insurance head of customer relations Suzanne Wolton said if a breach of the licence related to the cause of the crash drivers may not be covered and the claim may be denied.
In the 12 months to June, AA Insurance had received 352 claims where customers were in breach of licence conditions.