(July 20, 2011) SAN DIEGO (PRNewswire) — All parents have at least one thing in common: tending to the well-being of their children. Today, many parents have taken safety — including auto precautions— into their own hands.

Whether it's dropping kids off at school, picking them up from dance class, or taking a road trip across the state, parents — as opposed to grandparents — have insisted on driving in order to ensure the safest ride possible.

But now, a new study sings a different tune: while parents may feel they are the safest drivers, it's in fact the grandparent's car ride that may be safest of all.

The study, researched under the supervision of Dr. Fred Henretig, a physician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, found that grandparents were safer drivers than parents, especially in the instance of injury accidents.

While the risk of car accidents increases as age does, the study suggested the opposite: grandparents were less likely to be involved in a car accident when transporting grandchildren. In fact, the study found that children were 50 percent less likely to be injured in a car accident when a grandparent was driving.

"Speaking as a grandparent, about the worst thing that could happen is one of your grandchildren getting hurt on your watch, and trying to communicate that to your children," Henretig said.

Perhaps extra care and precaution is the key after all — and a good lesson to be learned by parents and guardians alike.