drink alcohol in any amount, they re more likely to engage in risky behavior like driving or riding with somebody. reporter: so parents, it is important to remember in many ways, you can make a difference if you follow a few rules. it is not enough to just say, don t drink and drive. it is not enough just to say it once. it has to be a constant mantra. number two, your relationship matters. reporter: borba says whether it s drinking, drugs or texting while driving, parents need to nurture a close relationship. but also set firm rules, be the parent, not the pal. parents who produce a child who is less likely to take the risks have a warm, positive relationship that also make their kid accountable. reporter: you put those two parts of the formula together in your parenting styles, that s the gold standard you are looking for. i m so glad you didn t get in that car! that s all for now.
reporter: let s go to the tape. a few times it s not his phone that s a distraction, it s female passengers. watch here as mitch speeds into a turn, his passengers are not only not wearing shirts, no one s wearing seatbelts. but does he ever pull out his cell phone? here it is. pressed against his ear while speeding through a turn. and here he s on the phone and does a one-handed u-turn across double yellow lines. this is probably illegal ugh! reporter: but the most disturbing event comes at 3:00 in the afternoon. he falls asleep behind the wheel. that shocks me. we were notified about that just because it was so dangerous. that could have been head-on. it could have been the end of our kid.
we do a lot of role playing. we talk about drinking and driving so i m curious to see what happens. and there s one more thing about this group that could be a game changer. a tragedy in nicole s family. her mother s brother killed before nicole was ever born. i lost my brother to a drunk driver. reporter: it was 1986 when her brother got in a car with a drunk driver. my brother was 22. he was just graduating college. reporter: how much did that affect you at that time in your life? life has never been the same and never will be, ever. reporter: nicole s mom says she s made it clear nicole is never to get in a car with anyone who s been drinking. she does know that if she finds herself in a situation where maybe the designated driver is drinking, she can call me anywhere, any time, we will come and get her with no questions asked. still, nicole s mom is not certain about what her daughter will do today. i hope that she doesn t go. reporter: and what does our exp
means. yeah. she told me never. reporter: today would have been nicole s uncle s 47th birthday. i love you. so proud of you. you did great. reporter: our expert, who bet they would get in the car, is happily surprised. i want to point out, you re the exception to the rule. a lot of people your age would get in the car. you worked together as a team and you gave your reasons. you ve been drinking i m so glad you proved us all wrong! me, too! moms, you ve made a statement to parents around the country that say they don t listen to me. it doesn t matter. we talk a lot. it really does matter. you made a difference. your kids didn t get in the car today. reporter: and terisi says parents need to know that zero tolerance towards drinking alcohol can have an effect when it comes to their teens drinking and driving. the data is pretty consistent. when parents let their kids
his aggressive driving nearly causes a three-car collision. so is a.j. s speed his only problem or is he also distracted by his cell phone. see for yourself. here he takes a turn too fast. and nearly loses control of the car. all the while his phone stays glued to his ear. he said he didn t use his cell phone, didn t plan on using his cell phone. he said it, i believed him. now he s giving me a reason not to believe him. reporter: our final test driver is mitch, a professional go-kart racer. i ve been driving go-karts for probably about five years. reporter: he also told us he doesn t use his phone when he s driving. someone calls me, i don t normally answer it. i feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. i just wait. reporter: he tells his dad the same thing. we believe that he s not doing that because he s telling us he s not doing that.