Thinking About Buying a Car for Your Teen Driver?
It doesn’t seem that long ago that your teen was just a baby, learning how to walk. And now here he or she is, standing in front of you, brand new driver’s license in hand. If you’ve been thinking about buying your teen driver a car, a result of a recent new study on teen drivers may help you to choose the best car for your child.
In a recent study published in the medical journal Injury Prevention, researchers examined data about teen drivers from 2008 to 2012 from the US Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which collects information on traffic accidents that cause fatalities. Teen driving is a concern to traffic safety researchers, as previous studies have shown that teen drivers are three times more likely to die in fatal traffic crashes than adult drivers.
As reported by Time, the researchers found that, of the 2,420 teen drivers between the ages of 15 and 17 killed in traffic accidents in the time period analyzed in the study, nearly half were driving older vehicles – that is, cars and other vehicles that were at least 11 years old. Older vehicles do not have the kind of safety features which are fairly standard in cars today, such as air bags and electronic safety control.
The size of the car was also a factor in the crash fatalities data, with teen drivers being significantly more likely to die when behind the wheel of a small car, when compared to middle-aged drivers. Larger vehicles, which are usually heavier, tend to offer more protection to their occupants than a smaller, lighter vehicle.
If you’re thinking about purchasing a car for your teen driver, the results of this study may provide some useful safety guidelines: older cars and smaller cars may not be a good option for your child.
After a car accident, an experienced attorney is one of the few people who will advocate for your best interests. Robert Greening is the principal attorney at GreeningLaw, P.C. He has dedicated his 24 years of practice to the litigation of wrongful death and serious injury cases. If you have any questions, contact GreeningLaw, P.C. at 972-934-8900.