Narrator:        This is Science Today. Handing over the car keys to a teenaged child is a major milestone - but it can also be a major source of worry. Yet, research has shown that parents can influence whether or not their children become safe drivers. Dr. Federico Vaca, an associate professor of clinical emergency medicine at the University of California, Irvine is an expert on driver safety issues.

Vaca:              Research clearly shows that like in many other things, like education, parents that are most involved with their kids in their education, these kids tend to do better. And the research shows that parents that are most involved in their children in the pre-driving and driving phases and their driving education for kids, these kids are safer - they drive safer.

Narrator:        Vaca says the research also shows that kids tend to drive like their parents.

Vaca:              Now, the onus is on us as parents because we are models for the kids. So, if you drive not so great, your kids are listening, they're watching seeing what you're doing, so the onus is on us to be the model - the right model.

Narrator:        For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.