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National Teen Driving Safety week is an annual event held the third week in October.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens between 15 to 18 years old in the United States. That catapults motor vehicle crashes ahead of all other types injury, disease or violence.
There were 1,972 teen drivers of passenger vehicles involved in fatal crashes in 2015 alone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
PHOTOS: Teen driver safety at Qualcomm Stadium
In 2015, nearly one in five teen passenger vehicle drivers involved in a fatal crash had been drinking.
531 passengers in 2015 alone were killed in vehicles driven by teen drivers. More than half of those passengers weren’t wearing a seatbelt.
In 2015, 10 percent of teens involved in fatal crashes were distracted at the time of the crash.
Speeding is also an issue, according to the NHTSA. 29 percent of all teen passenger-vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes were speeding.
Parents can also take action. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created a printable agreement between teens and parents to help prevent teen motor-vehicle crashes. Click here to view and print the form.
Click on the map below for a list of driver safety courses in the San Diego area:
