Tori Kunkle's eyes light up as she talks about getting her driver's license. Tori, 17, is thrilled with her newfound freedom.

Her mother, Deb Kunkle, isn't so sure."She's very cautious, very responsible. But I worry about the other drivers on the road," Kunkle said.Kunkle's concerns are well-founded: car crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. Per mile driven, drivers ages 16 to 19 are three times more likely than drivers age 20 and older to be in a fatal crash, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.In 2010, about 2,700 U.S. teens age 16-19 were killed, and about 282,000 were injured in crashes. The risk of crashes for unsupervised teen drivers rises with the number of adolescent passengers. The crash risk is particularly high during the first months after getting their licenses, according to CDC.In Pennsylvania, drivers age 16-21 were involved in 40.1 percent of single-vehicle crashes, and in 60 percent of multi-vehicle crashes, according to 2012 data provided by the state Department of Transportation.Locally, teen drivers recently have been involved in serious incidents.On Jan. 19, a pickup driven by a 16-year-old girl, Mikayla Blakeslee, slid on ice on Pohopoco Drive in Franklin Township and slammed into a car carrying a 16-year-old driver, Elizabeth Heffley, and her three passengers. One of the passengers, Emily Brong, remains in the hospital.On Jan. 29, state police cited an unidentified 17-year-old Tamaqua boy with a stop sign violation after he pulled from Catawissa Street onto Route 209, into the path of a van carrying four people, including two children. The resulting crash injured the two adults in the van.The top factors that contribute to the crashes include driver inexperience, driving with teen passengers, nighttime driving, and distracted driving, according to CDC.Making it saferIn Pennsylvania, teenagers go through the Graduated Driver Licensing program, which allows young drivers to gain experience before getting an unrestricted license. First, they acquire a learner's permit, in effect for six months, then a junior license, then an unrestricted license.The program started in 1999. In 2011, the state tightened the program, increasing supervised driving hours at night and in bad weather, limiting the number of passengers, and prioritizing the use of seat belts by all occupants of vehicles driven by teenagers.The changes are important. Nearly two out of three crash deaths involving 16-year-old drivers happen when a new driver has one or more teen passengers, according to CDC. Nighttime fatal crash rates for 16-year-olds are almost twice as high as daytime rates.The Graduated Driver Licensing Program has reduced crash risks, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.Parents are importantWhile the rules help keep teens safer on the road, it's mom and dad who really make the difference, according to CDC. In its "Parents are the Key" program, CDC advises parents to extend their teen's supervised driving period, set the rules of the road, and enforce the rules with a parent-teen agreement.Information on the program can be accessed at

www.cdc.gov/ParentsAreTheKey/parents/index.html.Lysa Grant of Jim Thorpe makes sure to impress upon her 16-year-old son, Keith, the importance of paying attention."The most important thing is to focus. Turn off the radio, limit conversation and drive," she said. "As you gain experience, you can add the tunes and the talking. But start by just concentrating on all that is around you."Grant describes herself as a "stickler for not following too closely. I can teach my child to be a safe and smart driver, but I cannot teach others, so always be aware of the other cars around you."Kelly Boran Smith of Tamaqua also wants to convey the importance of awareness to her daughter, Kaelyn Boran, who turns 16 in March, and is eager to drive."I have told her she must be focused at all times. There can be a situation that arises at any moment where she may need to stop in a split second, and that not being able to do so could mean injury or death to her or someone else," Smith said.Kunkle, whose daughter has just gotten her junior license, said she sets firm rules, one of which is Tori may not have any passengers in the car.