Resources for Parents

DRIVE SMART University knows there are lots of emotions surrounding teens getting their driver’s licenses. You, as a parent, are often scared because you know the crash statistics, but you’re probably also excited because you can stop being a chauffeur! Research shows that YOUR driving behavior and your involvement with your teen driver play a critical role in their driving behavior. Please search here for tips on teaching your teen how to drive, risks teen drivers face, insurance information, products you can buy to monitor your teen’s driving, and much more. If there’s a resource you think we should include, please let us know!


  • Safe Text – Protecting Your Teen from the Dangers of Texting

    This is the first book in a series to help parents protect their teens from the dangers of technology and the Internet. Not only does the book describe the dangers and legal implications of texting, but also gives tools and information how to dialog with teens about the dangers of texting.

  • Safe Young Drivers: A Guide for Parents and Teens

    This is an indispensable guide for teaching teens to drive. Written by Phil Berardelli, a father and former teacher who understands this often frustrating – and potentially dangerous – passage into adulthood, Safe Young Drivers is intended for parents and teens to use together. Each new lesson addresses parental issues, such as how to choose a car for your teen, and provides teens with simple instruction and important tips to remember. With simple graphics, a complete index, and a section called Some ABC’s for the Road – a mini-encyclopedia for teens – Safe Young Drivers offers a valuable tool for all new drivers and their teachers.

  • Not So Fast: Parenting Your Teen Through the Dangers of Driving

    Not So Fast empowers and guides parents to understand the causes and situations that most often lead to teen crashes and to take specific, proactive steps—before and each time a teen driver gets behind the wheel—to counteract them.

  • teenSMART

    Unlike driver’s education programs that focus on passing a driving test, teenSMART uses behavioral intervention methodology and scientifically based instructional technology to identify and address six factors that cause more than 90% of all teen collisions. Teens learn about each of these factors through self-paced, interactive exercises that keep them engaged and interested.

  • Safe Road Home: Stop Your Teen From Drinking and Driving

    Safe Road Home takes a brutally honest look at drinking and driving, featuring detailed advice, new research, and safe-driving tips from leading experts. For parents and teens alike, the book also includes quizzes, solutions to everyday scenarios, a “Smashed” viewing guide, and true stories about teens who survived alcohol-related crashes—and some who did not.

  • 3 Keys to Keeping Your Teen Alive: Lessons for Surviving the First Year of Driving

    This program works with state/provincial Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) programs to provide 25 structured driving lessons including detailed road practice exercises with instructional videos; critical information about issues like distracted, drowsy and impaired driving plus essential vehicle maintenance and break-down tips.

  • Rules of the Road: Interactive Driver’s Ed Course

    A comprehensive 2-disc interactive driver’s education course. This can be used as a refresher for skilled drivers or an introduction for new drivers.

  • Teach Your Teen to Drive: … and Stay Alive

    “Teach Your Teen to Drive… and Stay Alive” is a way for parents to teach their teens to drive while covering each states’ parent-teen practice driving laws-typically an average of 50 hours. The book is written with innovative, positive and lifesaving tips helping “safety-proof” families from expensive collisions, tickets, insurance rates repairs or a DUI. “Teach Your Teen” features 8 simple, life-saving chapters that also focus on driving safety and reducing parent-teen anxiety.

  • Crash-Proof Your Kids: Make Your Teen a Safer, Smarter Driver

    Certified driving instructor and dad Timothy Smith combines the collective wisdom of numerous experts to develop the Crashproof Plan: a series of behind-the-wheel exercises designed to improve your teen’s driving awareness, behavior, and skill in a way that fits your schedule. Written in a highly accessible, informal, and often humorous style, this comprehensive plan begins where drivers’ education programs end.

  • Driver Ed in a Box

    Driver Education Course with videos, interactive classroom, audio CD’s with tips, and training mirrors.

  • Driving Simulator and Road Rules

    An electronic driving simulator designed to act as a safe tool for teens to learn and practice driving skills. The software program simulates driving in cities, snow, fog, darkness and icy road conditions, practicing parallel parking, passing, lane changing and much more.

  • Virginia Driver’s Manual

    An online version of the Virginia Driver’s Manual that covers everything you need to know to prepare for the Virginia Driver’s Exam. Exam questions are taken directly from this manual.

  • Virginia Department of Education 45 Hour Parent/Teen Driving Guide

    A guide written by the Virginia Department of Education that details Virginia’s graduated license laws, what parents should be teaching their teens during driving lessons, and tips for parents of teen drivers.

  • Partners for Safe Teen Driving

    The mission of Partners for Safe Teen Driving is to help communities develop a parent education program, so that parents can guide their children through the first perilous years of driving.

  • MasterDrive

    MasterDrive is a national driving school and online resource center that features clinics for parents and students as well as information for corporate fleets.

  • GEICO Teen Driving and Teenager Car Insurance

    Resources for teens and parents that includes a parent/teen driving contract, a PowerPoint presentation for parents, teen driving statistics, videos and an auto safety library with quiz.

  • Teen Texting & Driving: A Comprehensive Guide For Parents

    This guide highlights five ways parents and educators can address the issue of texting and driving with teens.

  • The Truth About Teen Driving

    An interactive article illustrating the history of teen driving, statistics on car accidents, and an outline of dangers and risk behaviors involved with teen driving. This great resource also includes car insurance rates and state regulations that parents will find very helpful.

  • MADD: Mothers Against Drunk Driving

    The mission of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. To date, MADD’s work has saved nearly 300,000 lives…and counting.

  • Youth of Virginia Speak Out About Traffic Safety (YOVASO)

    YOVASO is a youth leadership organization focused on saving the lives of teenage drivers through encouraging and empowering teenagers to be traffic safety advocates in their schools and communities. YOVASO helps students and school administrators set up a YOVASO Club or expand an already existing club to include safe driving initiatives. Trainings, support materials, safety campaigns, and staff assistance are all free.

  • CDC- Distracted Driving

    Read about a recent CDC analysis that examined the frequency of two major distractions—cell phone use and texting—among drivers in the United States and several countries in Europe.

  • AT&T It Can Wait

    Get statistics about teens and texting and driving, download an anti-texting app for your teen’s phone, and watch AT&T’s new 10-minute documentary titled “The Last Text,” featuring stories of real individuals whose lives have been adversely affected by texting behind the wheel.

  • Tips for Parents of Teen Drivers from Progressive Insurance

    Progressive Insurance provides parents with information to help them understand the risk factors involved in letting 16-year-olds get behind the wheel.

  • Parenting Teen Drivers

    A website created by a child psychologist to convince parents of the need to take teenage driving seriously and to take steps to reduce the risk of their children being in auto accidents. Among these steps is a parent-teen driving agreement.

  • Liberty Mutual Insurance

    Liberty Mutual’s teen website with information for teens with tips on preparing for the driving test, how to parallel park, and what to do in the case of an accident. Information for parents on helping teens learn to drive, insurance, and state driving laws.

  • Getting Your Learner’s Permit and Driver’s License in Virginia

    The Virginia DMV explains the requirements for obtaining a learner’s permit and driver’s license in Virginia.

  • Teen Driver Information

    Information provided by the Virginia DMV to help teen drivers understand the requirements of driver’s education and documents needed to obtain a license. The site also includes a Sample Knowledge Exam.

  • Parents in the Driver’s Seat

    A brochure for parents outlining their rights and responsibilities as a parent to a new driver, and explaining the sanctions of teen driving offenses.

  • Teen Driving Restrictions

    Teen driving restrictions are explained on the Virginia DMV website and include curfew restrictions, restrictions on the number of passengers, and cell phone/wireless communication device restrictions.

  • Virginia Driver’s Manual

    An online version of the Virginia Driver’s Manual that covers everything you need to know to prepare for the Virginia Driver’s Exam. Exam questions are taken directly from this manual.