Earlier today, in the midst of National Teen Driver Safety Week, Riverside County Sheriff's Office emphasized the essential role parents fulfill in promoting safe driving habits among their teenage children. Car crashes remain the leading cause of death among teenagers in the United States according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, implicating an immediate need for parental involvement in teen driving safety.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that in the year 2021, an estimated 94,201 teen passengers were injured in car crashes. Car crashes involving teen drivers resulted in 170,083 injuries, accounting for nearly 7% of all roadway injuries that year. These statistics emphasize that parents have the onus of their children's safety on roads, requiring them to actively educate and guide their teens both within and away from the vehicle.

Parents play an integral part, as the first and most influential driving tutors, in shaping responsible driving habits in their teenagers, as per Riverside County Sheriff's Office. Riverside County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Don Olson underscored the criticality of such communication during National Teen Driver Safety Week, calling on parents to consciously work on cultivating safe driving behaviors in their children.

To ensure teenage road safety, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office suggests parents adhere to the following measures:

• Gain an understanding of California's provisional licensing law, restricting passengers and nighttime driving for the first year a teenager has a driver's license.
• Partake in driving practices with their teenagers to exemplify safe driving habits.
• Impose rules such as phone restriction while driving, minimizing distractions caused by friends, abiding by the speed limits, and mandating seat belts.
• Put emphasis on the rule against driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and advise against accompanying drivers who have consumed these substances.

Note that the funding for this program was allotted by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, via the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to the Riverside County Sheriff.