In honor of National Teen Driver Safety Week (October 18-24), the NHTSA has released a video highlighting, perfectly, how crazy it is that we spend 15 years being completely horrified by the various violent shenanigans of our children, and then seem to think it's totally fine to let them drive a giant metal machine that is literally the leading cause of death for this age group.     As the video states, parents should discuss 5 rules with their kids before allowing them to hit the road. The “5 to Drive” campaign addresses the five deadliest and most dangerous teen driving habits:

1. No alcohol – The minimum legal drinking age in every state is 21. However, in 2013, among 15- to 20-year-old drivers killed in crashes, 29 percent had been drinking.
2. No cell phone use or texting while driving – Texting or dialing while driving is more than just risky – it’s deadly. In 2013, among drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes, 11 percent were reported as distracted at the time of the crash. This age group has the highest percentage of drivers distracted by phone use. In 2013, 318 people were killed in crashes that involved a distracted teen driver.
3. No driving or riding without a seat belt – In 2013, more than half (55%) of all 15- to 20-year-old occupants of passenger vehicles killed in crashes were unrestrained.
4. No speeding – In 2013, speeding was a factor in 42 percent of the crashes that killed 15- to 20-year-old drivers.
5. No extra passengers – NHTSA data shows that a teenage driver is 2.5 times more likely to engage in risky behaviors when driving with one teenage passenger and three times more likely with multiple teenage passengers

Parents might think that this stuff is obvious, but remember, your teenager's brain insn't fully formed yet, and, unfortunately, I think it's going to be tough to change the legal driving age to 25. If you don't want to do it yourself, hire a motivational speaker to do it for you. Seriously, though, this stuff is so important. Until science allows us to inject our children with drugs that allow them to achieve full mental maturity at age 16, we need to help keep them safe.