New York, Dec 18 (IANS): Sex behind the wheel can distract young drivers, leading to over-speeding and even a crash in some cases, says a new study.

According to researchers from the University of South Dakota, there was a fair amount of sex - including intercourse - while driving among youngsters in South Dakota.

The findings - which involved 195 men and 511 women - showed that while 33 percent of men and nine percent of women had sex while driving, nine percent of men and 29 percent of women had sex while as a passenger.

Sexual activity lasted 1-10 minutes for 42.7 percent of the respondents.

About 49 percent were travelling at a speed of around 100-130 km per hour during sex, it added.

The most common driving errors reported were speeding (37.8 percent), drifting into another lane (36 percent) and letting go of the steering wheel (10.8 percent).

Fewer than two percent nearly had a crash, said the authors.

Reported by Star Tribune, the study appeared in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention.