LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky has a large number of teens involved in crashes every year.
Now, one mom is bringing an advanced driving course to Louisville.
There's still nearly four months left in the year but Kentucky State Police reports thousands of teen drives have crashed cars already.
More than 1,700 16-year-olds have crashed this year. That number jumps to nearly 3,400 for 17-year-olds.
There have been over 3,700 crashes for 18-year-olds.
A class is hoping to keep teen drivers safe behind the wheel.
Addison Garlove, a 17-year-old, driving a car. (WDRB photo)
"When this precious little baby that you still think of like this is now operating a motor vehicle and you're not there," Amy Garlove said.
With her 17-year-old Addison now behind the wheel, Garlove knows that all too well.
"You hope that everything you've taught them all along, whether it's about rules of the road, you hope they're remembering that, but ultimately, you don't know," Garlove said.
That's why when she heard about BRAKES, she knew she was signing her kids up.
"I still feel like you can't have enough knowledge when you're going into something like this," she said.
BRAKES stands for "Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe."
It's an advanced driving school started by drag racing star Doug Herbert after he lost his two young sons in a car crash in 2008.
The organization said it's graduates are 64% less likely to have a car crash in the first three years of driving.
"I think a lot of 16, 17, 18 year old's go into driving feeling pretty confident after they kind of get the hang of it and I think my kids kind of realized, wow there's a lot more to this than I probably had really thought about," Garlove said.
Thanks to Garlove, the class is now coming to Louisville for the first time on Oct. 7-8.
Registration is already open online. And with Kentucky having the highest fatality rate among teen drivers in the country. she said it's necessary.
"Maybe it's just something that they, that knowledge, they stick in their back pocket and 10 years from now, something happens when they're on the road and they're able to pull that information out and use it and keep themselves and other people safe, and that, that is the most important thing to me," Garlove said.
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