Choosing A Car For Your Newly-Licensed Teenager
Getting a driver's license is virtually a rite-of-passage for teens- it can be enough to make a parent crazy, and worrisome. Fortunately, there is something frenzied parents can do to protect their teens—choose a safe vehicle.
Teenage drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident than older drivers so the kind of car they drive will have considerable influence on saving their life. Here are some things to consider when choosing a car for your newly-licensed teenager. Call your insurance agent to see the costs of auto insurance coverage may also be a factor in determining which car to choose.
• Do your best to avoid vehicles that will encourage reckless driving. New teenage drivers not only lack experience, but typically lack a certain maturity. As a result, speeding and reckless driving are common issues.
• Sports cars and other vehicles with high performance features such as large, powerful engines, turbocharging, and suspension kits are likely to encourage speeding. By choosing a vehicle with a more sedate personality will reduce the likelihood your teen will be in a speed-related accident.
• Don't choose an unstable vehicle. Sport utility vehicles, (Jeeps, Hummers, FJ Cruisers) especially the smaller ones, are inherently less stable than street cars because of their higher centers of gravity. Quick, abrupt steering maneuvers—the kind that occur when teens are fooling around or tyring to over-correct a driver error—cause potentially dangerous rollovers where a more stable car would, at worst, skid or spin out.
• Pick vehicles that offer good crash protection with multiple air bags, strong bumpers, and passenger compartments. Teens should drive vehicles that offer state-of-the-art protection in the event that they do crash.
• Choose a larger vehicle. Small vehicles generally offer much less protection in crashes than larger ones. However, this doesn't mean you should put your child in the largest vehicle you can find. A number of mid- and full-size vehicles offer more than adequate crash protection. Check out the safety ratings for mid-size and larger cars.
• Pick a newer vehicle. Most current cars are better designed for crash protection than cars of six to ten years ago. For example, a newer, mid-size car with airbags would be a better choice than an older, larger car without airbags. Before making your final choice on the car your teenager will drive, consult the U.S. Department of Transportation (http://www.dot.gov) or check out the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (http://www.iihs.org).
