Photo: rms.nsw.gov.au

Teenage drivers have the highest crash risk of any age group. They are involved in one out of four road deaths, although they only make up 10-15 per cent of all drivers.

Parents must play an active role in their teenage children's driving lessons. It is not enough to simply be a passenger while they “get their hours up”.  Share these nine road safety tips, from budgetdirect.com.au, to encourage your teens to be better, safer drivers.

Stick to the Speed Limit
The speed limit is just that: a limit. Use other traffic to teach your teenager that it is not always possible to drive at exactly the speed limit. Going over the speed limit is the biggest killer of young drivers. We often see reports of this. The faster you go, the less time you have to take control if you get into trouble.

Wear Your Safety Belt
Seat belts help avoid injury when you are thrown forward in a crash. Insist that your teen always wears a safety belt, even for short trips to the shops.

Don't Use the Phone
Handling a phone, looking at it or even listening to someone speaking on it causes distraction. When driving, your full concentration must be on the other traffic and the road conditions. A moment's loss of attention could cause an accident. It is illegal to use a phone when driving, unless it is a hands-free device. Learner and P drivers aren’t allowed to use phones at all.

Be Aware of Your Blind Spot
Every car has a “blind spot”, an area you can't see in your mirrors. If you only trust your mirrors, you can easily miss pedestrians, bikes or speeding cars. Turn your head briefly before changing lanes, pulling out, merging with traffic or turning.

Keep Out of Other People’s Blind Spot
Every car has a different blind spot. If you're alongside another car and slightly behind it, you might not be seen. Move ahead or fall back, to make yourself clearly visible.

Don't Drive when Sleepy
Road safety research shows about 15 per cent of crashes are caused by driving when drowsy. Like alcohol, tiredness affects your  attention, memory and coordination.

The warning signs are daydreaming, difficulty focusing, frequent blinking, heavy eyelids and trouble keeping the head up. It’s best to pull over for a 20-minute power nap.

Don’t Drink and Drive
Alcohol affects your ability to concentrate and make decisions. How can you trust your own judgment if you've ben drinking? Even small amounts of alcohol can affect driving ability, so there are strict laws against it.

Learners and P-platers must have zero alcohol in their bloodstream while driving. There can be no argument about this.

Use Your Headlights
Headlights are necessary at night, but they're useful in the daytime too. The important thing is to be seen by other drivers. They will clearly see your headlights long before they see your car. Use them in the early morning and dusk, when there is less daylight, and when it's dull, overcast, or raining.

Take Fewer Passengers
Teen drivers look forward to driving their friends around. This can make them feel important and want to show off. They might also feel pressure from their friends to show drive fast or do clever stunts. Put a limit on how many passengers they can take. Get to know their friends, so you have some idea which ones have an “attitude”.

There is one more tip especially for parents who supervise teen drivers. Teenagers don't like to be told off for their mistakes, but if mistakes are not pointed out, how will they ever learn the right thing to do? Be patient and don't argue. Agree that they didn't mean to make the mistake, but don't insult them or make them lose face by calling them stupid or careless. Be firm and repeat, they must follow your advice if they are going to learn to drive correctly and safely.