Study: Teen Driver Crash Risk Rises in Smaller sized Vehicles

What you need to have to know:

• New research shows teens’ crash danger increases when they drive smaller sized cars.


• Teenagers are more probably to have the least secure types of automobiles.


• Giving teens utilised cars that lack advanced safety characteristics comprises their safety.


• The IIHS recommends purchasing teens cars with Electronic Stability Manage 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 Institute for Highway Security.

But there’s something else that compounds dangers for teen drivers: They’re also a lot more most likely to drive “the least secure sorts of autos,” stated the IIHS.

Teen Drivers Are Risky … and They Drive Risky Vehicles

According to IIHS study on drivers, 15- to 17-year-old drivers had the lowest collision claims prices when driving “very big SUVs.”

Meanwhile, the highest claims prices came from teens driving modest 2-door cars. That price that was virtually 3 occasions larger than the rate for quite massive SUVs.

The sorts of vehicles teenagers drive affects not only their claims rate but also their safety. The IIHS says newer, costly automobiles are safer for teens, but they frequently don’t get them.

According to the IIHS, surveys show that the average cost tag of cars for teens are much much less than what parents require to devote to get essential security characteristics.

“Unfortunately, it’s very tough to get a protected vehicle for a teenager at the rates most men and women are paying,” Anne McCartt, IIHS senior vice president for research, said in a statement, adding that parents should “remember the dangers teens take and take into account paying a little much more.”

The identical surveys discovered that much more than 4 out of each 5 parents stated they purchased a utilized car for their teenager.

IIHS Outlines Best Practices for Used-Car Purchasing

Along with its research, the Institute released recommendations for parents who are purchasing a vehicle for their teenage driver. The suggestions are “guided by 4 main principles”:

• Make sure it has electronic stability control (ESC)
  IIHS referred to as the technology “a must” for teenagers because it helps drivers retain handle 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 focus to security ratings
  A teen’s automobile should at least have leading ratings in frontal crash tests and acceptable ratings in side crash tests, along with high marks in federal crash tests.


• Think about larger, heavier automobiles
  Such cars are safer and “protect far better in a crash,” according to the Institute.


• Do not take into account high-efficiency cars with a lot of horsepower
  A fast engine can simply mean a fast teen driver. And that implies trouble.

According to the Institute, parents at times break far more than a single of those 4 recommendations, placing their teens at even greater danger.

Take for example, the “double-whammy” of little automobiles and minicars. “Not only are teens much more likely to crash them,” the Institute said. “[T]hey also don’t offer you a lot protection when a crash occurs due to the fact of their minimal weight and tiny crush zone.”

The IIHS also listed dozens of used automobiles, model years 2005 or later, that it recommends for teenage drivers at cost tags of below $ 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 each the cheapest vehicle on the list and 1 of the handful of to get a best rating in the Institute’s latest frontal crash test.

Auto Insurance coverage Ideas to Fight the Higher Price of a Teen Driver

Teens—or rather, their parents—pay a higher cost for auto insurance. Teenage auto insurance is “always greater than for other drivers simply because as a group they pose a higher risk of accidents than much more experience drivers,” according to the Insurance coverage Data Institute (III).

Right here are some ideas from main automobile insurers that parents can use to mitigate the harm their teen will do to their auto insurance bills, such as widely obtainable discounts for excellent students and smartphone apps:

• Progressive: “It’s normally less expensive to add your fresh-out-of-driver’s-ed teen to the loved ones plan versus acquiring him separate auto insurance coverage for teens.”


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


• Esurance: The DriveSafe smartphone app is one of several from main insurers that sport the exact characteristics parents want to preserve their teen protected behind the wheel: text-disablers, and speed, braking and location trackers.

Study: Teen Driver Crash Risk Rises in Smaller sized Vehicles