Parents who are nervous about letting their 16-year-old son or daughter get behind the wheel of a 3,000-pound machine can find some assurance in a teen driving course.

A new defensive driving course will be taught by law enforcement officers with extensive driver training, experience with accident investigations and knowledge of the law.

Pursuit of Excellence Driving Academy was recently started by Washoe County Sheriffs Det. John Spencer and Roy O’Connell, a retired Sparks Police traffic officer and detective on the Major Accident Investigation Team. O’Connell also offers certified Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) training for police, fire and ambulance drivers.

“Working in traffic so long, I saw so many tragic accidents that were avoidable if only the kids knew what to do,” O’Connell said. “Hopefully, we can educate them. Who better than a (retired) cop to instruct them on how to avoid collisions?”

The course is certified by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and satisfies the required 30 hours of driver education for teens in Washoe County, O’Connell said.

The classes will go over in-depth information on driving skills, show videos on things such as high-speed tire failure and how to react to hydroplaning — when car tires lose traction control and slide across rain-covered roads.

The class will also offer interactive discussions on traffic law, such as what is considered a red-light violation, speeding violation and what constitutes a tailgating violation.

“We want to increase their understanding and ultimately save their lives,” O’Connell said.

Allstate America’s Teen Driving Hotspots study released Thursday finds that fatal car crashes in the Reno/Sparks area involving teen drivers were caused by speeding 53 percent of the time. The rate of speed-related fatal car crashes among Reno teens was among the top in the nation.

The average rate of fatal car crashes involving a teen driver in Reno is 27.41 annually per 100,000 teens, the study said. Alcohol was a factor in 17 percent of these crashes, while 65 percent of crashes overall involved a male driver.

“We want to cut down on the number of kids who are injured or killed,” O’Connell said.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an average of more than 17 teens a day die on American roads during the months of June, July and August, with more than 5,000 teen lives claimed in car crashes every year. The biggest cause of teen crashes between 2003 and 2005 was driver error, at 87 percent. Driver distractions — food, music, other teens in the car, cell phones and texting — also lead to a large number of car crashes.

Driver education and training, as well as parental involvement, may significantly cut down the number of teens who died each year in car crashes, O’Connell said.

The first series of classes will start the week of June 10, just as school lets out for the summer. In an attempt to encourage interest for the new classes, a discounted rate of $200 for the 30-hour class is being offered.

For more information or to register for the classes, contact the Pursuit of Excellence Driving Academy at www.pursuitofexcellence driving.net or call 358-0700.

When the driving academy is better established in the community, O’Connell said they would like to purchase cars specially outfitted with hazardous condition simulators. Students could then practice their skills during five hours of collision avoidance drills and learn how to safely come out of a slide. O’Connell has preliminary permission to use the track at the Regional Public Safety Training Center for conducting the drills, he said.

“We started thinking about it in 1992, and we’ve actually been working on it for three years,” O’Connell said. “It’s been a long road to start this business. Even with our extensive experience, we still had to take driving tests at the DMV. We are trying to take baby steps to get this business going.”

Concerned parents can take an active role in teaching their teens good driving habits. Parents and teens can fill out an interactive contract to set their own expectations and consequences for things such as supervised driving, late-night driving restrictions, rules on giving rides to other teens and bans on using cell phone and texting while driving. The interactive contract is available online at: www.allstate.com\teen.