So, your teenage son or daughter wants to drive! Suddenly, driving has become one of the most important things in your child’s life. Scary isn’t it?

Naturally, you may dread the increase in your auto insurance premiums. However, there is a lot more at stake than higher premiums. As parents, we all share the fear of our children becoming involved in an automobile accident.

Addressing teen driver safety in October is especially important because the number of 16- and 17-year-old driver claims involving injury or collision is expected to spike nearly 20 percent in October as compared to other months. According to State Farm’s extensive claims database, October has averaged the highest number of teen vehicle crashes from 2003 to 2007. For this reason and the following alarming statistics State Farm has helped designate the third week in October of each year as National Teen Driver Safety Week.

Car crashes kill about 6,000 teens nationwide each year, with Texas accounting for some 500 of that total, the agency reported.

Cars driven by teens kill more than 800 people per year in Texas, State Farm said.

One in three teen drivers has an accident within the first year of getting their license, the company noted.

And 62 percent of teenage passenger deaths occurred in motor vehicle crashes in which another teenager was driving, the insurance giant reported.

Clearly, the numbers show teens are high risk drivers.

But State Farm says there are ways to reduce these accidents.

Researchers say the crashes are caused primarily by inexperience combined with one or more of five risk factors, in this order of frequency:

1. Driving at night; 2. Distractions (cell phones/texting and other teen passengers, etc.); 3. Speeding; 4. Low seat belt use; 5. Alcohol

The statistics are taken from a study, Teens in the Driver Seat, a Texas Transportation Institute Program.

As statistics show, there’s no doubt your age has a lot to do with your chance of being in an accident. That’s why insurance companies charge more money to insure younger drivers. They know teens have a much greater likelihood of being in an accident.

Editor’s note: This article was submitted by Paul Baca, State Farm Insurance agent.