New data has been released about driver's education and training in the U.S. which says that teenagers often lack the essential knowledge and skills that can help keep them safe while driving.

The knowledge gap could result in close to 300,000 preventable car crashes involving inexperienced drivers ever year, according to a press release issued by Michelin North America and  Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), who commissioned the survey.

Automobile accidents are the No. 1 killer of teens in in the U.S., with more than 5,000 deaths occurring every year. Of the 2.2 million vehicle accidents per year, 12 percent of them are among inexperienced drivers and involve tire-related problems like insufficient tire tread or improperly inflated tires.

"Teenagers in this country are dying in car accidents or are involved in car crashes that are preventable and require only very simple behavior changes," said Pete Selleck, chairman and president of Michelin North America, according to the release. "Michelin North America is committed to helping lead change and to get our young drivers the training they need."

Only half of teens (49 percent) and their parents (47 percent) reported that their driver's education program completely prepared the teens to drive, according to the survey.

"Young drivers can take some very easy, quick steps that can affect their safety - and help them avoid an accident," said Selleck. "Tires are the only parts of a car that touch the road, so it makes sense that driving safety begins with tire maintenance. Driver's education today has done many things well; however, it has generally ignored some key safety facts."

Key findings determined during the survey includes:

-Fewer than half of states (23) mandate driver's education classroom time, and of those, only seven states cover tire safety information: California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

-Nine states refer to tire safety in their educational materials, none of which mandate classroom time devoted to tires or tire safety

-Less than half of teens (48 percent) check their tires at least monthly, compared with 69 percent of parents.

-Around three quarters (73 percent) of teens said they had their parents teach them about tire maintenance, but only around one-third (38 percent) of these parents consider themselves to be extremely knowledgeable about tire maintenance.

To deal with the the safety gap in the current driver's education curriculum, Michelin and FIA have announced a new effort to transform the way new drivers are trained. The effort will include encouraging peer education, working to update the state-by-state Department of Motor Vehicles education curricula, and mobilizing parental involvement.

The companies are also working toward making new resources available to help teens and parents brush up on car and tire maintenance skills.

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