The leading cause of death for American teenagers is motor vehicle crashes. According to the CDC, in 2005, teenagers accounted for 10 percent of the U.S. population and 12 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths. Unfortunately, that percentage is rising. The most likely to die are males between the ages of 15 and 20. Teens are less likely to wear seatbelts and are more likely to take risks in their inexperience.

Teen driving accidents are more likely to occur in the first year after the "teen" earns their first driving permit. The more they drive, the more experienced they become and the fewer risks they take. In most teen driving accidents, one of the teens was speeding.

Keep track of your teen's driving using the Personal Mechanic from Car Checkup. This easy-to-install product allows you to access the car's records online. You can tell how fast the car was going, the distance traveled and if there was any hard braking or accelerating simply by logging on to your account. You will receive all of this in a graph as well as the status of your engine. Does it need maintenance? Personal Mechanic will tell you! Personal Mechanic is just as certified as a human mechanic is but it is much cheaper.

As teen driving accidents climb, many parents are refusing to let their teens drive at all. This is not the way to protect your teen. Your teen needs driving experience. It is a life skill. The way to protect your teen is to arm them with knowledge and let them drive. Then check their driving record on Personal Mechanic and point out to them what they are doing wrong. Teens do appreciate the instruction. Very few people actually want to be in an accident and especially not teenagers since they have their whole lives ahead of them.

Remember parents; knowledge is power. Let your teens put their driving knowledge to use to become more experienced. A Personal Mechanic is not a spy. It is the more grown-up equivalent of calling the parents of the friend your teen was having a sleepover with. It is more reliable, however. It is time to let your teen spread his or her wings. You have to let them grow up sooner or later. Rather than refusing to allow them to drive, let them drive. Let the Personal Mechanic be their chaperone. Many people drive accident-free their whole lives. Your teen could be one of them.



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