I remember teaching my kids how to drive – a milestone in any young person’s life. Learning to maintain speed, negotiate turns, and checking the blind spot were always areas of concern.

Like many parents of teenagers, I worried, especially about whether I had taught them enough about safety behind the wheel. Now, years later, I’ve learned that it’s not so much about what I taught them, but how they applied it. 

To help parents and teenagers in this important time, last week we at NHTSA led National Teen Driver Safety Week (NTDSW). This week is all about bringing teens, parents, educators and community leaders together to help prevent car crashes – the leading cause of death for American teens. 

For this year’s NTDSW, I sat down with teens from Mills High of the San Mateo Union High School District, near my hometown in California, to talk about safety tips for teens that NHTSA developed under our ‘5 to Drive’ campaign. 

We talked about alcohol, seat belts, distraction, speeding, and driving with extra passengers. We talked about the 2,974 teens nationwide that lost their lives in traffic crashes in 2015. Young people who were no different from them, ages 15 to 19 years old, with their entire lives ahead of them. 

In most cases the crashes were a combination of teens taking on risky behaviors behind the wheel, immaturity, and driver inexperience. It was an important conversation to have because fully informed, responsible teens can change their behaviors and influence their peers and younger drivers to play it safe.

NTHSA’s ‘5 to Drive’ campaign highlights five important rules all teen drivers should follow before getting behind the wheel. 

Rule 1: No Cell Phones: Texting especially poses threats for teen drivers because they choose to take their eyes off the road and at least one hand off the steering wheel. Texting simultaneously involves manual, visual, and cognitive distraction and is among the worst of all driver distractions.

Rule 2: No Extra Passengers:  Most teens are susceptible to peer pressure, which can lead to risk-taking.  In a study analyzed by NHTSA, teen drivers were two-and-a-half times more likely to engage in one of more potentially risky behaviors when driving with one teenage peer compared to when driving alone.

Rule 3: No Speeding:  Speeding is an important factor of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes. Talk to your teen about the dangers of speeding and of not staying in control of the vehicle. Remind them to always follow the posted speed limit, and set consequences if it is not followed. 

Rule 4: No Alcohol:  Young drivers 15 to 20 years old are at far greater risk of death in crashes involving alcohol than the rest of us, even though they cannot legally purchase or possess it. If lucky enough to survive a crash, your teenager will have to face the consequences of breaking the law. 

Rule 5: Always Buckle Up: When teenagers are ready to drive, remind them that whether they are driving across town or just around the neighborhood, wearing seat belts is the absolute best way to protect themselves and their passengers in the event of a crash. By keeping drivers in a secure position, seat belts help all drivers maintain control of the vehicle in emergency situations.

In the ideal world, the norm would be zero teen deaths on U.S. roads. It’s a goal we’re working towards, but to get there, we need to encourage teens to follow these five safe driving practices to help prevent tragedies. 

Getting the message to stick will take clear and consistent reminding. Parents and caregivers should never underestimate their influence or the effectiveness of repeating themselves, over and over again. Being the broken record can have major safety benefits in getting the message to resonate.

That’s why I urge all parents and caregivers to sit down with their teens and have the conversation. Set the standard by spelling out the rules and be upfront about the consequences if they break the rules. 

Applying smarter driving habits early can help ensure our goal of zero fatalities on U.S. roadways. Together, let’s make every week about helping our teens make better, safer choices on the road.