Do you have a teenage driver in the family? Or a youngster who is nearing the age when he or she can test for a learner's permit? Let's see if we can take a moment to put ourselves in the mind-set of a teen anticipating the privilege of driving.

Just for the sake of a mental exercise, stop for a second and imagine that your eccentric great uncle George flies a single engine airplane. You've just received word that he passed away from natural causes and has bequeathed the airplane to you! He always loved flying and thought everyone else should as well! In his will he specifies that once you get your pilot license you'll receive a cash inheritance of $1,000,000 that you can use however you wish.

Wanting to fly an airplane has never crossed your mind. In fact, climbing into the cockpit of a small plane and flying is a scary proposition. Maybe you're afraid of heights. Maybe you don't have time or the money to take on a major new learning process. Maybe you're a single parent and are terrified at the thought of crashing and leaving your kids without a parent. But you know the promise of having one million dollars will change your life in many favorable ways. So you decide, with great trepidation, to learn to fly. Right away you're faced with a whole host of questions.

• How much training do I need? I don’t want to crash and burn! I want to stay alive to enjoy the $1 million. I need the best possible training!
• How many hours of training do I need to be really safe? I don't just want to go for the minimum to get my license. I want to be safe!
• Do I need to get a sport pilot license, a recreational class or a full private pilot's license?
• Where do I learn to fly? What flight school? How do I pick the instructor? What kind of plane? How am I going to pay for all this?
• How am I going to learn all those ground rules? Flight rules? What about that first solo flight?
• Why did my great uncle put this huge burden on me? Couldn't he have just left me the million dollars without complicating my life?

Now...switch mental gears. Think about your teen getting a driver license and beginning to drive a car. Many teens, on reaching the age where they can drive, have an incentive to get their driver license that's at least as exciting -- from their point of view -- as inheriting a million dollars. It brings Freedom. It's a milestone on the road to becoming an adult. It lets him leave the school bus behind forever. It brings social acceptance and esteem. It gets her away from parents, so she can hang out with friends. It brings mobility and gives her control of her life that she's never had before. Freedom. Independence. Freedom. And more Freedom.

Do teens think about and question all the steps they will have to take to become a licensed driver? Do they consider how they can become safe drivers? Do they know, for example, that driving crashes are the Number One Cause of Death for 15-20 year olds? That one in four teens will crash during his or her first year of driving...that over 80 percent will crash in their first three years? Are they concerned that they might not survive the first year, even the first few months, of driving? Do they question how they will get training, who will provide it, who will pay for it, whether they'll learn what they need to stay safe and alive?

Probably not! Many teens assume that parents will provide the supervised driving time needed while they are at the Learner's Permit stage. They may think that they can learn to drive in a few days, or a few weeks at most. That they'll be as good a driver as you by the end of the month, if not sooner. That parents will pay for driver's ed – even though teens will tell you that it’s a do-nothing class...they're only taking it because parents insist. Because Mom and Dad save a few dollars on car insurance.

How you approach the driving experience with your teen is critical. Among experts in the field of learning theory, driving is considered a "complex task." One that requires not only excellent motor skills, judgment and decision-making – but also the proper attitude, mindset and lots of practice time.

"How to Teach Driving Skills" cannot be summarized in a few hundred words. Yet there are some excellent resources that do answer the question in depth. One of these is the Collision Avoidance Training from Teensmart. Major insurance carriers invested several million dollars to have this program developed. It encourages best driving practices with parents and teens working together.

The American Driver & Traffic Safety Education Association is the professional association which represents traffic safety educators throughout the United States and abroad. They provide the basic curriculum guidelines used by many driving schools.

A family guide titled 911 for Parents highlights the major risk factors leading to crashes -- risks that can all be managed when parents and teens work together to understand factors are, then take steps to minimize them.

Finally, check with your state Department of Motor Vehicles for a list of approved driver training programs in your area. Visit those close to your home and interview the company. Ask how the school will work with you -- so you can do practice driving on the actual topics the school is teaching each session. After all, practice driving is required under Graduated Driver Licensing laws in most states. But just "driving around" with your teen is not nearly as effective as having him or her practice the very topics the driving school is teaching. Practicing skills that are critical to safe driving just makes sense.

Choose a driver's ed school that works with you. Driving is a skill that doesn't allow for very many mistakes. Don't take shortcuts getting your teen the best training you can arrange.