More and more drivers fill the roads every year.
Learning how to drive safely is more important than ever for your teen. Parents play an critical role in teaching teens the necessary skills to become a safe and knowledgeable driver.

• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers.
  
• 16 year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age.
  
• 16 year-olds are 3 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than the average of all drivers.
  
• Teach your teen how to handle the emergency situations.
  
• Continue to ride along and coach your teen even after they obtain their license.
  
• Set a driving curfew (morning and night) to limit 'after dark' driving.
  
• Monitor and limit your teen's driving during inclement weather.
  
• Restrict the number of passengers when your teen is driving.
  
• Talk to your teen - find out what situations or techniques they have trouble with, then take them to a low-traffic location and have them practice with you in the car.
  

National Driving Statistics

According to a 2005 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15-20 year olds primarily due to “driver inattention.”  Here are some further statistics to drive home the need for safe driving education.

• Teens make up just 7 percent of all licensed drivers, but they represent 14 percent of driving fatalities, according to AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

• Nearly 31,000 people were killed in crashes involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 17 between 1995 and 2004, according to AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

• Of those, nearly four in 10 (36.2%) who died were the teen drivers.  Three in 10 (31.8%) who died were the passenger.

• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15-20 year olds.

• Driver inattention is the most prevalent cause of collisions, accounting for for an estimated 25 percent to 56 percent of crashes.

• In 2004, 24 percent of young drivers, age 15 to 20, who were killed in crashes had blood alcohol levels of 0.8 or higher, according to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis.During the first year of licensed driving, 1-in-5 male and about 1-in-10 female 16 year-old drivers will have a crash.