NMDOT News:SANTA FE ― The New Mexico Department of Transportation encourages teens to drive safely and urges parents to talk to their teens about safe driving habits during National Teen Driver Safety Week, which is Oct. 15 – 21.
“It is so important that parents are consistently talking to their teens about safe driving habits – this week and every week,” said NMDOT Cabinet Secretary Tom Church. “It can help save lives on the road.”
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens ages 15 – 18 nationally. In 2016, in New Mexico 44 teen drivers ages 15 – 19 died in a fatal car crash based on preliminary data. In the same year, there were 7,532 teen drivers ages 15 – 19 in car crashes.
NMDOT will continue to work to keep teen drivers safe on our roads through campaigns such as DNTXT to combat distracted driving; the Departments underage drinking prevention campaign, Zeroproof; and the BKLUP campaign to encourage seat belt use.
The Department is also responsible for developing the requirements for driving school operations and approves the driving school curriculum. Through driver education and safety training, drivers learn valuable skills that can help them make better decisions when behind the wheel so they are less likely to be involved in a car crash.
