Driving is a big responsibility, and the choices that teens make in the car are important.
Driving is a complex activity that uses a variety of skills at once, and it takes time to learn all these skills. Missouri has a Graduated Driver's License Law that helps make learning to drive safer for teens, but driver's education is no longer offered in most Missouri schools. It can be stressful to try to obtain a driver's license without enough experience on the road, knowing that inexperienced drivers are more likely to make mistakes with big consequences.
Teen Driving Statistics
123
people were killed in teen driver involved traffic crashes.
50%
of teen drivers were speeding or driving too fast for conditions when they crashed.
71%
of teens killed in crashes weren't wearing a seatbelt.
24
teens could still be alive if everyone was buckled up.
Preliminary 2024 Missouri Traffic Crash Data
Teen drivers face unique challenges behind the wheel.
Teen brains aren't fully developed to assess and respond to risk, which makes it more difficult for young drivers to make safe choices. Peer pressure can tip the scales even further, leading a driver to make a choice they wouldn't usually. Impaired driving, distracted driving, and speeding are all affected by this greater tolerance for risk and greater emphasis on peers' perceptions. Teen brains also need more sleep, on a different timeline than an adult brain, which makes drowsy driving a real danger for teen drivers.
Missouri has many programs that focus on educating teens and promoting safe driving habits. These programs cover a range of topics through hands-on, peer-to-peer, and parent-inclusive options!
Missouri Teen Driving Safety Programs
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Arrive Alive Tour
The Arrive Alive Tour provides a state-of-the-art VR simulator installed on an actual vehicle, where participants experience the dangers of driving while distracted or impaired. -
B.R.A.K.E.S.
B.R.A.K.E.S conducts hands-on, advanced driver training events for teens and parents through in-car experience, including skid recovery, crash avoidance, panic braking, and more. -
CHEERS
Businesses participating in CHEERS provide free non-alcoholic drinks to the designated driver in a group of two or more. It’s a way to say thanks for caring about your friends and community! -
Drive to Save Lives
Presentations designed not just to inform but also to empower high school teens with knowledge, awareness, and actionable strategies to be safer passengers and drivers. -
Families Acting for Community Traffic Safety (FACTS)
FCCLA's FACTS program gives MO student members the tools to build projects that educate adults and peers about traffic safety and support enforcement of local rules and regulations. -
First Impact
First Impact educates parents about Missouri’s Graduated Driver License (GDL) law as well as provides them with the tools they need to monitor, coach and support their new teen driver. -
Keys 2 Independence
Keys to Independence is a program funded by MODOT to help youth in out-of-home care obtain their permit and driver’s license by removing the financial barriers of driving costs and fees. -
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
MADD helps youth explore the real, short- and long-term impacts of drinking underage, including how it damages their brains and the long-lasting social consequences through interactive presentations. -
Paving the Way
Paving the Way is a program for foster youth ages 15+ that provides driver’s education, among other life skills classes, as part of a two-week summer course. -
SADD
Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) empowers youth to change traffic safety culture for the better through a network of student-run chapters focused on peer-to-peer education. -
Safe & Sober
Missouri Safe and Sober is designed to give high school and middle school students, along with their parents and teachers, the information they need to prevent underage drinking. -
ThinkFirst Missouri
The award-winning programs of ThinkFirst educate people about their vulnerability to brain and spinal cord injury, common causes of these injuries, and how to prevent them. -
TRACTION
TRACTION is a peer to-peer youth traffic safety leadership training program designed to empower high school students to take an active role in promoting safe driving habits and preventing crashes. -
TyREDD
TyREDD (Tyler Raising Education for Drowsy Driving) works to prevent drowsy driving crashes through presentations that combine the Warne family's story of loss with the science behind sleep. -
Work Zone Safe
The mission of Work Zone Safe is to ensure that every new teen driver before they get those keys placed in their hand knows that there's a face and family behind every flag, cone, and flashing light.
FEATURED PROGRAM:
TRACTION
Teens Taking Action to Prevent Traffic Crashes
Today's teenagers are tomorrow's drivers. TRACTION empowers these teens to take action in their communities to promote highway safety and change driver behavior for the better. Get involved today at motraction.org!