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Parents of teenage drivers — for the sake of the kids, not to mention their car repair bills and insurance rates — should know more about what their teens are up to behind the wheel.

A recent survey by the AAA travel club showed 96 percent of parents let their teenagers drive in unsafe ways.

I'm guessing this is not because the parents don't care but simply because they don't keep up with their teenage drivers' behavior, or they don't watch out for risks such as driving in bad weather.

AAA is pitching the idea that teens and their parents come to an agreement to require the teens to check in before they turn on the ignition and start driving.

This is supposed to help the teenagers feel more accountable for their driving time, because they're essentially reporting when they're behind the wheel and where they're going.

This could be one way to help teens realize that driving is serious business.

The obvious problems are the teenagers simply cannot follow through, and the parents simply cannot enforce it. But you have to start somewhere.

Contracts between parents and teenagers are a good idea if both sides are involved in drafting them.

But it won't work if the parents are handing down a list of rules a teenager sees as arbitrary. It also won't work if a teenager asks for total freedom and the parents feel like the answer is either yes or no.

To reach out to teenage drivers, AAA has made an e-mail newsletter and special Web site — www.teensatthewheel.com — and also started a Facebook page where members can join a group or "cause page" on driving safely. The group isn't just for teenagers. Anyone who wants information on traffic safety can join.

It's also a fundraiser for AAA's Foundation for Traffic Safety.

A few other online resources can also help new drivers and their parents.

Check www.teendriving.com for tips written by teens on how to safely do the things you need to do, such as negotiating a crowded school parking lot.

The site www.safeteen drivingclub.org was made for parents and teens; it gives parents help on discussing some driving issues with their new drivers.

With so many temptations, not the least of which are friends, cell phones and iPods, teens and their parents need all the help they can get to make it through the driver-training years.

Question: "Going north on North First Avenue approaching Orange Grove Road, where there are now two left-turn lanes: At the intersection, there is a sign indicating two left-turn lanes, and the word ONLY under them both. Under that sign, there is one . . . that says: 'U turn yield to right turners.' . . . One sign says you can turn ONLY left; the other sign indicates U turns are permissible. I think one of them needs fixing or removing," Diane Simons wrote.

Answer: This question prompted the Pima County Department of Transportation to review all of its intersection signs to make sure they're accurate, said Annabelle Quihuis, spokeswoman for the department.

The department plans to change the signs on northbound First Avenue approaching Orange Grove so they show a U-turn is allowed from the turn lane closest to the median, and left turns are allowed from both left-turn lanes, department head Priscilla Cornelio said.

The "yield to right turns" signs will remain, Cornelio said.

Road Runner