Study: Teen Driver Crash Risk Rises in Smaller Vehicles

What you require to know:

• New analysis shows teens’ crash danger increases when they drive smaller sized automobiles.


• Teenagers are a lot more likely to have the least secure varieties of vehicles.


• Giving teens employed cars that lack sophisticated safety attributes comprises their security.


• The IIHS recommends buying teens automobiles with Electronic Stability Handle and offers specific recommendations.

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Crash claim prices for some teen drivers are more than double than the prices for older drivers, according to a new analysis from the Insurance coverage Institute for Highway Safety.

But there’s something else that compounds dangers for teen drivers: They’re also much more likely to drive “the least secure kinds of automobiles,” stated the IIHS.

Teen Drivers Are Risky … and They Drive Risky Vehicles

According to IIHS analysis on drivers, 15- to 17-year-old drivers had the lowest collision claims rates when driving “very large SUVs.”

Meanwhile, the highest claims prices came from teens driving tiny 2-door autos. That price that was practically 3 occasions greater than the rate for really huge SUVs.

The kinds of automobiles teenagers drive impacts not only their claims price but also their security. The IIHS says newer, pricey vehicles are safer for teens, but they typically don’t get them.

According to the IIHS, surveys show that the average value tag of cars for teens are much less than what parents need to devote to get crucial safety features.

“Unfortunately, it’s extremely challenging to get a protected automobile for a teenager at the costs most men and women are paying,” Anne McCartt, IIHS senior vice president for research, stated in a statement, adding that parents need to “remember the dangers teens take and contemplate paying a small a lot more.”

The very same surveys discovered that more than 4 out of each 5 parents said they bought a employed car for their teenager.

IIHS Outlines Ideal Practices for Utilised-Car Acquiring

Along with its study, the Institute released recommendations for parents who are getting a automobile for their teenage driver. The recommendations are “guided by 4 major principles”:

• Make positive it has electronic stability handle (ESC)
  IIHS named the technology “a must” for teenagers simply because it assists drivers retain control of their vehicles when they veer on “curves and slippery roads.” According to federal estimates in 2012, ESC technologies saved thousands of lives in a 2-year period.


• Spend attention to safety ratings
  A teen’s automobile ought to at least have leading ratings in frontal crash tests and acceptable ratings in side crash tests, along with high marks in federal crash tests.


• Consider bigger, heavier automobiles
  Such automobiles are safer and “protect better in a crash,” according to the Institute.


• Don’t contemplate higher-overall performance automobiles with a lot of horsepower
  A rapidly engine can very easily mean a rapidly teen driver. And that signifies difficulty.

According to the Institute, parents at times break more than a single of those 4 suggestions, putting their teens at even greater threat.

Take for instance, the “double-whammy” of little cars and minicars. “Not only are teens far more most likely to crash them,” the Institute stated. “[T]hey also don’t offer you a lot protection when a crash happens since of their minimal weight and modest crush zone.”

The IIHS also listed dozens of used automobiles, model years 2005 or later, that it recommends for teenage drivers at value tags of under $ 20,000 and $ 10,000.

The Institute highlighted the 2005 Volvo XC90 as a “safety bargain.” Valued at about $ 7,000, the Volvo model is both the least expensive automobile on the list and a single of the few to get a best rating in the Institute’s latest frontal crash test.

Auto Insurance coverage Suggestions to Fight the High Price of a Teen Driver

Teens—or rather, their parents—pay a higher price for auto insurance. Teenage auto insurance is “always greater than for other drivers due to the fact as a group they pose a greater danger of accidents than more knowledge drivers,” according to the Insurance coverage Info Institute (III).

Here are some tips from key auto insurers that parents can use to mitigate the damage their teen will do to their auto insurance coverage bills, which includes extensively available discounts for excellent students and smartphone apps:

• Progressive: “It’s normally more affordable to add your fresh-out-of-driver’s-ed teen to the family members strategy versus acquiring him separate auto insurance coverage for teens.”


• GEICO: “Good grades could add up to sizable savings.”


• Esurance: The DriveSafe smartphone app is a single of numerous from significant insurers that sport the exact characteristics parents want to keep their teen safe behind the wheel: text-disablers, and speed, braking and location trackers.

Study: Teen Driver Crash Risk Rises in Smaller Vehicles