Erie Insurance and its Lookin' Out Program for teen drivers (with a MySpace page by the way) conducted an extensive survey of driving teens. The Auto Channel, an online source for auto information, posted about the results of the survey from August, 2007. The survey found that 91% of American teens believed they are safe drivers, but only 42% of the same teens reported that their fellow teens were safe drivers. The study interviewed over 2,000 drivers from age 16 to 19.

The teens claimed they were safe drivers, but reported the following activities:

• 58% reported regularly talking on a cell phone while driving.
• 52% reported sending and receiving text messages while driving.
• 10% reported driving under the influence.

As a business owner if you employ teen drivers, it is critical for the teen's safety, and for your bottom line, to train the drivers and adopt a zero-tolerance policy regarding unsafe driving habits. Teen drivers are involved in twice as many fatal accidents as adults and automobile accidents remain the number one killer of U.S. teens.