HARTFORD, Conn. -- The state is one step closer to cracking down on teen driving. Gov. Jodi Rell approved on Friday the Teen Driving Task Force's short-term recommendations, which will next go before the Legislature.

"We're going to get tough, be sensible, ask kids to follow new rules and save some lives," said Bob Ward, commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

The talk force's recommendations also included making the curfew for teenage drivers 10 p.m. instead of midnight.

"If caught driving with an extra kid in the car or violating curfew, it's a 30-day loss of license for the first offense and you have to go back through driver retraining," Ward said.

 Another recommended change includes a new passenger policy to prevent teen drivers from having friends in the vehicle for the first 12 months they have their license. Family members would be able to be in the car.

"There's real significant evidence that when they have extra kids in the car, the number of accidents and severity goes up," Ward said.

The governor created the task force after nearly a dozen teens were killed in car crashes in recent months. Four teens died in a crash in Wolcott, two others in Wallingford and four -- including a brother and a sister -- were killed in Bristol.

The task force has planned a public hearing next week to hear from the public about the proposals. The hearing is set to take place at Rocky Hill Town Hall at 7 p.m. on Jan. 31