PORTLAND, Maine — As National Teen Driver Safety Week wraps up, highway safety experts are encouraging teenagers to review the rules of the road.
Patrick Moody, Public Affairs Director of AAA Northern New England, often teaches drivers education classes and has seen how drivers education has shaped over the years.
Both Moody and highway safety experts say new and improved information may be paying off.
"We're still seeing a lot of crashes and fatalities out there but we are moving in the right direction," Moody said.
According to a recent study conducted by the Governor's Highway Safety Association, deadly crashes involving young drivers fell 38 % from 2002-2021.
In Maine, that number decreased by 56 %.
Highway safety experts say better education in the classroom may be one driving factor.
"Parents need to speak to their young one about a number of things," Public Affairs Director of the National Road Safety Foundation, David Reich said.
Such as, what is considered distracted driving. What are the consequences of driving under the influence?
Reich even recommends parents sign a contract with their teen drivers so expectations and rules are clear.
Another factor that may be helping teen drivers is the introduction of tech such as automatic braking, backup cameras, or blind spot detection.
However, Moody reminds parents to teach teens that new technology is only a tool, not a replacement for good driving practices.
"Teens are gonna make mistakes, we know that. So we want to limit the exposure to that and reduce risk as best we can," Moody added.