This coming Sunday is the beginning of National Teen Driver Safety Week.

It's all part of bringing teen collision involvement down. Manitoba Public Insurance spokesperson Brian Smiley explains the progress they're making in reducing road accidents to zero.

"We want to raise awareness about Manitoba Public Insurance's new Driver Z program that is essentially an enhanced driver education program, and the National Teen Driver Safety Week," says Smiley. "Both these initiatives are focused on reducing collisions and raising awareness about road safety."

He notes Driver Z started up last year as in Beta form with 20 schools. September 30th saw it recommence in full form in almost 170 high schools in Manitoba. Smiley explains it's an online program and a change from the old drivers' education layout.

"Classroom time's been reduced by about 14 hours," continues Smiley. "So, essentially, it's more focus on online and parental involvement. Again, with the National Teen Driver Safety week, it's to focus on teen drivers. Regarding the fact that they are over-represented in collisions, we want to reduce that."

MPI reports that youth comprise five per cent of all drivers yet they're involved in ten per cent of both injury and fatal collisions every year.