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Teens' cars are older, smaller and less safe

 
Tampa Bay Times
Published July 17, 2014

New York Times

Many teenagers are driving vehicles that do not offer good crash protection or lack important safety technology, according to research released this month by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a group financed by the insurance industry.

The study shows that teens killed in crashes while behind the wheel are more likely than adults of their parents' age to be driving vehicles that are smaller and older. Larger, heavier vehicles generally provide better crash protection, and older vehicles are less likely to be equipped with safety enhancements like electronic stability control and side air bags.

Data in the report showed that 29 percent of drivers 15 to 17 who were killed in crashes were driving small cars or minicars, compared with 20 percent of drivers 35 to 50 years old. And 82 percent of the teenage motorists who died were driving vehicles at least 6 years old, compared with 77 percent of the adults.

Thirty-four percent of the teenage driver fatalities occurred in vehicles that were from 6 to 10 years old, 31 percent were in vehicles from 11 to 15 years old and 17 percent were in vehicles at least 16 years old.

But even when teens were driving relatively new cars — less than 3 years old — 57 percent of those were small cars or minicars. The institute defines minicars as those weighing from 2,000 to 2,500 pounds. An examples would be the Toyota Corolla.

The institute says parents should consider four points when choosing a vehicle for a teen: Avoid cars with a lot of horsepower; look for larger, heavier vehicles; get one with electronic stability control; and choose one with the highest safety rating.