Dear Parents

There is no easy way to put it. Automobile collisions are the number one cause of fatality in teens. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 30% of deaths in people 15 to 20 are a result of an automobile collision. Alcohol plays a part in about a quarter of those collisions which means of the 4000 to 5000 deaths each year in that age bracket, over 3000 did not involve an intoxicated driver. There are a number of campaigns to raise awareness of that specific problem and we support them. Our purpose is to impact in the 3000+ fatalities (75%) that are not caused by alcohol use.

In 2006, AAA recently reported, drivers aged 15 to 17 were involved in about 974,000 crashes, injuring 406,427 people and killing 2,541. The cost of these events was over $34 billion. This report did not include the 18, 19 and 20 year olds and these are just the collisions that were reported.

Another contributing factor to the death rate is lack of seatbelt use. While it's true fewer teens than adults wear seatbelts, not wearing them is not the cause of the collision.

Manufacturers are helping with very good passive and active safety technology, much of which is now required by Federal law. There are some emerging technologies for parents to track the vehicle location, speed and driving characteristics. Unfortunately, none of these technologies correct the real problem, they only jump in and assist after the problem has begun.

The DriveMark mission is to keep people out of the collision in the first place.

We definitely need to get our kids to stop drinking alcohol and wear seatbelts. We applaud the advancements in safety technology. There is nothing wrong with placing a device in your Childs car that reports their activity.

It's time to admit that without the proper training there will be little change to the numbers.

Ask yourself this question and give yourself an honest answer. Why is it that you are a safer driver than your teen? Here are the possible answers.

1) You have more experience
2) You have better skills
3) You are more aware of your surroundings
4) You have better judgment.

The whole purpose of the advanced driver school, the "Street Survival Skills" school is to teach those exact things. Not only will your student driver get informative and relevant classroom instruction, they will be able to practice advanced driving techniques, the kind that prepare them for what the streets and highways of our country have waiting. The icing on the cake is that they will have fun doing it.

Your next steps are obvious and simple. Click on Get Some Skills, find a school in your area and sign up for the next class.

If you can't find a class close to your home or you want to team up with a group of concerned parents to bring a school to your town, click the "Custom School" link and make contact with us. We will deliver the school right to your back yard.

If you have any questions about our site, the advanced driving schools or anything dealing with driver safety, please do not hesitate to write.

With the warmest regards,

Brent Jordan
President
DriveMark.com