Your teen faces more dangers on the road today than we did as teenagers. Snarled rush hour traffic, road rage, distractions, multiple mind-altering substances, just to name a few. Despite these facts, the way we train teen drivers in this country hasn't changed much in the past 50 years. For the past several decades, we've given our kids an average of 25-30 hours in classroom in instruction, and 1-6 of behind-the-wheel instruction, supervised driving. Teen driving requirements in the US are far less rigorous than in other countries. In Australia, Sweden, Great Britain, and other countries, they take it far more seriously. The requirements to get your license are far more rigorous. There's a lot more time behind the wheel. And guess what? The fatality rates there are half that of the US. So more rigorous training equals fewer crashes, fewer fatalities. Now, driver's ed in this country doesn't have enough time to make a huge impact on your driver skills and behaviors. Pass the driver's license test, know the basic rules of the road. But it's up to you as a parent to take them beyond that. To understand the societal and the peer pressures that have such an influence on their driving skills and behavior. So your role as a parent really starts after they go through driver's ed and get their license. Great to have the program. Wonderful to have people who are skilled in those beginning stages with a brake on the right hand side. But your ability to crash-proof your kid begins after they already have their license.