In the United States, car crashes remain a leading cause of death for teens, and each year we lose thousands of young lives to preventable collisions. According to NHTSA, there are over 6 million crashes annually resulting in approximately 45,000 deaths (10% of which are teenagers). The U.S., a country that once ranked #1 in Global Traffic Safety, now ranks among the worst compared to other developed nations.

At the CADR Foundation, we believe it's time to stop accepting these outcomes as inevitable. We're on a mission to redefine the qualifications and requirements for becoming a safe, responsible driver starting with teens, but ultimately transforming how all Americans approach being behind the wheel.

Together with our sister organization, Teen Driving Solutions School, we've spent years combining comprehensive education with advanced, hands-on driver training to reduce risk and save lives. That experience has taught us something critical: the parents who raise the safest drivers aren't the ones who got lucky. They're the ones who had the right guidance.

That's why we're writing The Parent's Guide to Raising a Safer Driver (working title): a research-based book built from decades of advanced driver training, real-world crash data, and education most driver's ed programs never touch. This isn't another rules-of-the-road pamphlet. It's the playbook for raising a teen who knows how to think behind the wheel. The guide will cover the mental side of driving, how to build a growth mindset behind the wheel, car-control theory, and crash prevention principles most families never learn until it's too late.

It will also equip parents with the tools to manage their own fear and anxiety while riding shotgun with a permited driver, and the confidence to become their teen's best coach on the road.

No one else is building this resource the way we are. CADR Foundation sits at the intersection of driver research, hands-on training, and real family experience and this book is where all of it comes together.

With your support, we're raising $25,000 to fund the book's editing, design, and publication. Any donation of $25 or more will receive a digital copy of the book once it's published. Limited print copies will also be available.

We can't afford to let outdated training and cultural complacency continue to cost lives. With your help, we can shift the narrative, empower families, and create a safer driving culture across the U.S.

This is our moment to drive real change...will you take the wheel with us?

Learn more at cadrfoundation.org
Questions? Contact us at support@cadrfoundation.org

Drive the Change: Funding Parent Training for Safer Teen Drivers in 2026