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 crash.

Addressing teen driver safety in the fall 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 the fall.

According to State Farm's extensive claims database, October/November 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:

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

n Cars driven by teens kill more than 800 people a year in Texas.

n One in three teen drivers has a crash within the first year of getting their license.

n Sixty-two percent of teenage passenger deaths occurred in motor vehicle crashes in which another teenager was driving.

Clearly, the numbers show teens are high-risk drivers, but let's look at how to reduce these crashes.

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

n Driving at night.

n Distractions (cell phones/texting and other teen passengers, etc.)

n Speeding.

n Low seat-belt use.

n Alcohol.

As statistics show, there's no doubt your age has a lot to do with your chance of being in a crash.

That's why insurance companies charge more money to insure younger drivers.

They know teens have a much greater likelihood of being in a crash.

Auto insurance is designed to protect our financial well-being.

Without it, most of us couldn't afford to drive.

Replacing a damaged car and paying an injured person's medical bills can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Most insurance companies will raise your rates - or even cancel your insurance - if you have too many crashes or traffic violations.

We all would like to pay less for our auto insurance.

Here are a couple of ways that your child can help:

1. Many insurance companies offer lower rates to young, single drivers who are better-than- average students in high school or college.

They do that because statistics show good students have considerably fewer crashes than students whose grades are average or below average.

2. Obey all traffic laws.

You can't always avoid a crash, but you can avoid traffic tickets, which can cause your insurance premiums to go up.

3. Look into insurance discount programs.

Although premiums are derived from the monetary cost of auto crashes, lives are priceless.

No amount of premium can ever bring back a life or reverse disabilities.

To ensure parents are equipped with the right tips and tools as they become driving instructors to their teens, State Farm has created a teen driver safety Web site, statefarm.com/teendriving and a cause page on Facebook where parents can learn ways to help their teens navigate the road and share safe driving tips with other parents.

For more information on teen driver discount programs, please feel free to contact me at (325)224-0200.

Joe Walker is a State Farm Insurance agent in San Angelo.