Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the country. On Saturday, 30 teens got the chance to fine tune their defensive driving skills right at Watkins Glen International. Our Vince Slomsky was there, and tells us more about the Street Survival School.

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Screeching tires are not uncommon at Watkins Glen International, but it's kind of rare when those tires are on a family sedan. The NASCAR drivers weren't in town Saturday, just some inexperienced teen drivers. But don't worry; it was all supervised on a closed course. The teens were learning how to be smarter and safer drivers in the Tire Rack Street Survival School.

"I'm having a lot of fun, I'm learning a lot of different stuff, how the vehicle handles, everything," said Keith McMillen, 17, of Trumansburg.

The teens drove through many different courses with an instructor in the passenger seat telling them what to do. They learned how to steer out of skids and sharp turns and stop their vehicles in tough situations, plus many other conditions they may encounter on the road.

"We'd rather them explore the limits of their cars in a controlled situation, rather than exploring it on the road or being surprised by hitting the limit without having experienced it before," said Jim Tulloch, one of the instructors.

Many of the kids already have their license, therefore they've been through driver’s education, but they say what they've learned in drivers education is almost nothing compared to the hands on experience they got at the track.

"It gets you right into the action; you're not sitting in a classroom atmosphere. You're actually in the car with an instructor telling you what to do in an emergency situation and it's a great experience," said Anna Pausch, 17, from Trumansburg.

The kids had to pay $60 to take part in the school, but the organizers say it was a minimal fee to help keep us all safe on the road.

"We want safe drivers. We want to help kids become safe drivers because we're all out there on the roads together," said Ike Neilson, a BMW Car Club member.

Thankfully, no one was injured, except maybe a couple of cones.

To learn more about the Street Survival School you can visit their site at www.streetsurvival.org .