Quick: What’s the hardest part of learning to drive? Many new drivers are nervous about passing their exam. Most sweat the technical maneuvers, such as parallel parking. But experts argue traffic crashes—the leading cause of death for 15- to 18-year-olds—are often because new drivers can’t yet detect hazards. Safety advocates are lobbying for more supervised experience behind the wheel.

“A novice driver is always wired to think the technical maneuvers (like parallel parking and reversing) are the hard thing, but instructors say it’s hazard detection. For instance, approaching intersections is the hardest because that’s where the lack of skill shows itself.” —Lynn Rogers, President of the Driving School Association of the Americas

Why experience matters more than curriculums for new drivers

A National Institutes of Health survey found that regular and frequent supervised driving practice protects teen drivers from potentially deadly crashes. In fact, practice reduced crashes by 39%.

Lynn Rogers, president of the Driving School Association of the Americas, emphasized, “Approaching intersections is the hardest because that’s where the lack of skill shows itself.” Understanding how aggressive drivers might rush a four-way stop—or how pedestrians might jaywalk without looking—just takes wheel time. And the safest way to get that time is supervised practice.

That said, young drivers rarely get the practice they need. When Progressive Insurance surveyed rookie drivers, it found only 11% had clocked more than 60 hours of supervised driving practice.

The Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety is urging every state to adopt a 70-hour supervised practice minimum for young driver’s license applicants. In the meantime, parents can always support their teen drivers in exceeding the local minimums—perhaps even shooting for that 70-hour goal.

In the NHTSA guidelines for teen drivers and their parents, it urges: “Talk to your teens about safe driving early and often, before they reach driving age.” It also points out, “Teens whose parents impose driving restrictions and set good examples typically engage in less risky driving.”