Teaching a child how to drive safely is an act of parental love — and societal responsibility. In this series of short documentaries filmed by photojournalists from Getty Images Reportage, watch how three families in different communities are navigating this rite of passage.

Dad is in a hurry. He takes a sip of coffee as the traffic slows, then reaches around to the back seat for his briefcase. All the while, he’s giving his teenage son important advice about the SATs and the upcoming prom.

Then the phone rings. “I shouldn’t do this,” the father tells his son, as he juggles his cell and the steering wheel. “But this is important.”