National Teen Driver Safety Week is October 18-24
Published on October 18, 2026
Safe driving starts long before anyone gets behind the wheel. This National Teen Driver Safety Week, the Tracy Police Department encourages parents and guardians to discuss safe driving habits with their teens before handing over the keys.
Car crashes are a leading cause of death for teens (15-18 years old) in the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2024, there were 2,320 people killed in crashes involving a teen driver. That same year, 496 people were killed in crashes on California roads involving drivers aged 20 or younger.
Teens should understand the dangers of risky driving behaviors, like speeding, texting while driving, not wearing a seat belt, and driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
Meaningful conversations at home can help shape the choices teens make on the road. Parents and guardians who discuss distractions, speeding, and impairment can help teens better navigate real-world risks and develop safer driving habits every time they get behind the wheel.
Teens are also encouraged to use free, mobile-friendly resources from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), including the free, mobile-friendly California Quick Reference Driver's Handbook, educational videos, and the Teen Driver Roadmap, a step-by-step video guide for teens and their parents to help them prepare to get behind the wheel safely.
The Office of Traffic Safety offers the following tips to support teen drivers:
- Learn about California’s provisional licensing law and Graduated Driver Licensing laws, which place restrictions on passengers and nighttime driving during the first year a teen has a license.
- Lead by example: Every time you're behind the wheel, it is a chance to model safe driving habits and talk about it with your teen.
- Establish safe driving behaviors that are not only expected, but also the law. This includes no phone use while driving, eliminating distractions from friends, always following the posted speed limit, and always buckling up.
- Friends, family members, parents, and guardians can create a teen driving contract to outline specific driving guidelines.
- Speak up for safety: Encourage your teen to say something as a passenger if the driver is speeding, distracted, not wearing their seat belt, or otherwise driving unsafely.
Teens, parents, educators, mentors, and California drivers can also practice safe driving behaviors in realistic situations on the new, free, web-based driving simulation, The Road Ahead, at TheRoadAhead.GoSafelyCA.org. Additionally, there is a user guide that provides an overview of how to get started and how to facilitate discussions about the game experience. The user guide is available online.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.