Kids A health and safety column from Children's Mercy of Kansas City, Mo. There is good reason to be concerned about your teen driving.
Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for teens and young adults.
More than 5,000 young people die each year in car crashes and thousands more are injured. Teens tend to drive faster or lack the experience of controlling a car as well as more practiced drivers. It takes many hours to gain the experience behind the wheel, and many driver's education classes just aren't long enough to teach all the rules of the road. Teens by nature are risk takers and often cannot foresee the consequences of their actions. Parents and teens need to learn the special laws that are designed to help teens become safe drivers.