DETROIT (WWJ) – There’s been a spike in teen car accidents in the last month … In one week alone, 20 teens were killed in five separate accidents nationwide. The manager of Ford’s Driving Skills For Life, Jim Graham, has advice for teen drivers and their parents.

Graham says teen drivers need to buckle up, reduce the number of passengers, obey the speed limit, and avoid distractions.

“There’s been a number of crashes where people weren’t buckled up and usually that results in a terrible issue. So buckling up … also reducing the number of passengers in a car with a young driver is very important. The addition of one passenger can make (the possibility of an accident) grow exponentially,” said Graham.

“We don’t know the cause of those crashes , but we do know that most all crashes can be prevented and young people lack the experience and than you throw in distracted driving and it’s a recipe for disaster , so we focus on all of those things in our training.”

Graham says teens also need to avoid distracted driving and speeding. He says they offer free hands on and web training programs for teens.

You can find out more safety and driving skill information – HERE.