This page is dedicated in memory of Kari Fahr, 1986-2002 and Crystal Coleman

Automobile Safety for Teenage Drivers

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the United States. Each year, over 5,000 teenagers die in such crashes, and teen drivers are involved in a substantial number of crashes that resolve in deaths of other people.

Why are teenagers at high risk of death from motor vehicle accidents?

Inexperience:

  • Research shows that teenagers are more likely than older drivers to speed, and run red lights, make illegal turns, ride with an intoxicated driver and drive after using alcohol or drugs.
  • Teenagers are more likely than older drivers to underestimate the dangers in hazardous situations, and they have less experience with such situations.

Low Rates of Safety Belt Use

  • Nearly 20 % of high school students report they rarely or never wear safety belts while riding with someone else.
  • Male high school students are more likely than female to rarely or never wear safety belts.
  • Black students are more likely than white students to rarely or never wear safety belts.

Alcohol

  • Data analysis shows that all levels of blood alcohol concentration, the risk of being involved in a motor vehicle crash is greater for teenagers and young people than for older people.
  • In a 1997 national survey, 37% of high schools reported that in the past 30 days they had ridden with a driver who had been drinking alcohol.
  • In 1998, 21% of the fatally injured drivers age 15 to 20 years had blood alcohol concentrations of at least 0.10 (Indiana law requires a blood alcohol concentration of less than 0.08).

Night Time Drivers

  • Drivers age 16 and 17 accumulate 14% of their miles, and 39% of their fatal crashes between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Automobile Safety for your Teenaged Driver

We would like to focus our efforts in two areas. The first area will include parental guidance of your young driver's acquisition of skills. The second category will hopefully help you choose a safe automobile for your teenaged driver.

Graduated Licensing/Privileging

Not all states have graduated licensing, but you could certainly adopt your own graduated driving rules for your teenager. A suggested driving program may be:

Stage I

  • Your teenager must be 15 years old to have a learner permit, must complete a drivers education program and must drive with a passenger over 21 years old.
  • Your teenage driver may not drive between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. He or she must wear a safety belt, and use no tobacco, alcohol or other drugs while driving.
  • Your teen driver must remain ticket-free and crash-free for six months.

Stage II

  • Your teen must be at least 16 and have had a learners permit for six months.
  • Your teen driver must drive with an adult during nighttime driving hours and drive unsupervised during daytime hours.
  • Passengers should be restricted to only 1-nonfamily member.
  • Your teen driver and his/her passengers must wear safety belts at all times. There should be no tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs in the vehicle.
  • Your teen driver must remain ticket-free and crash-free for 12 months before moving on to full driver licenses.

Stage III

  • Your teen driver must be at least 18 and have driver at Stage II for at least 2 years.
  • No restrictions on driving if teen has been ticket-free and crash-free for six months.
  • No use of tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs permitted.
  • Teen drivers and all passengers must wear safety belts at all times.

Safe Cars for Your Teenaged Driver

A vehicle's ability to keep your teenaged driver out of an accident can be just as important as its ability to protect him/her in a crash. Several factors contribute to a vehicle's accident avoidance capability. Two of the most important factors include braking and emergency handling. The importance of a vehicle's anti-lock system (ABS) can not be overestimated. This is an important to a safe vehicle. Cars that exhibit good emergency handling will tend to avoid more car crashes than cars that are less maneuverable. Acceleration, driving position, visibility, and even seat comfort can also affect accident avoidance. Vehicle weight may play a part in injury protection. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety states ?all else being equal, larger and heavier vehicles are safer than smaller, lighter ones? in a crash. Resources to help parents to evaluate a care are available on the internet:

Recommendations for Choosing Automobiles

(The following information has been drawn from the Consumer Report.org section expert forum entitled 'Choosing a Car for a Young Driver')

In general a reliable safe car with anti-locked braking system (ABS) would be a good choice for your teenage driver. There is a trade-off between weight and road handling/braking characteristics. Air bags, front and side impact are desirable features. Many families will buy a vehicle several years prior to their child reaching driving age so that it can be well broken in and its unique charastics can be well known to the parents of the teenage driver. It is recommended to take a used car into a reputable mechanic to have a 'physical' just to make sure brakes, suspension, and tires are in good mechanical condition prior to transferring ownership of the car. Specific brands that were recommended included the Honda Civic, Mazda Prot?, and Subaru Impreza. For SUV's, it was felt that the Toyota RAV-4 was the safest available.

All other things being equal, the most important factor in preparing a teenage driver to safely drive is adequate preparation in learning how to drive and insistence in wearing safety belts with shoulder harnesses.