Overview

• National Teen Driver Safety Week runs Oct. 19–25, with NHTSA urging communities to prioritize safe driving habits for new drivers.
• NHTSA highlights core risks for teens that include distraction from phones, impairment, speeding, peer passengers, and low seatbelt use.
• Federal and local officials urge parents to set clear ground rules, model safe behavior, require seatbelts, bar phone use, curb speed, limit passengers, and forbid DUI.
• Stockton Police Chief Stanley McFadden underscores that parents and caregivers play a critical role by initiating conversations and reinforcing expectations.
• Local outreach echoes the national message, with safety advocates emphasizing early, consistent guidance so driving habits form well before a teen gets a permit.