Why Teens Shouldn’t Drive Old Cars

Photo by NBC Universal

There’s an awesome scene in a recent episode of NBC’s “Parenthood,” in which matriarch Zeek surprises his college-age grandson Drew by giving him the 1965 Pontiac GTO convertible he’d spent endless hours restoring in his driveway. And Drew drives off with the top down, stunned and happy, hair flying in the wind. But now a new study finds that letting teens drive old cars, classic or not, may turn out to be a tragic mistake, because they lack life-saving safety features.

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The study, published online in the journal Injury Prevention on Thursday, used the Fatality Analysis Reporting System to analyze data on vehicles of drivers ages 15 to 17 (and ages 35 to 50) who died in crashes between 2008 and 2012. During that period 2,420 kids between the age of 15 and 17 died at the wheel of a car. 82 percent were driving cars at least six years old, and 48 percent were in vehicles at least 11 years old — not nearly as old as Drew’s Pontiac, but more deadly nonetheless.

"We know that many parents cannot afford a new vehicle," study author Anne McCartt, senior vice president for research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, told NBC News. “Our message to parents is to get the most safety they can afford.”

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Few teenagers’ cars had electronic stability control (ESC) — which helps drivers regain control during a skid — or side airbags as standard features. But parents should consider them when choosing vehicles for their teens, the study recommends.

Teens were also more likely to die in smaller vehicles. “Several factors contribute to the relative safety of a given vehicle,” the study says. “All other things being equal, occupants in bigger, heavier vehicles are better protected than those in smaller, lighter vehicles. Both size and weight affect the forces experienced by vehicle occupants during crashes, and the magnitude of these forces is directly related to the risk of injury.”

The study concludes: “Parents may benefit from consumer information about vehicle choices that are both safe and economical.”

To that end, parents of new drivers would be wise to conduct the IIHS’s consumer guide, “Choosing the Best Vehicle for Your Teen.” It makes four main recommendations:

?Avoid high-horsepower engines. These could tempt teens “to test the limits.”

?Opt for bigger, heavier vehicles. They protect drivers better in a crash, and data shows that driving one can help avoid an accident in the first place.

?Chose a car with Electronic Stability Control (ESC). This feature reduces risk “on a level comparable to safety belts,” the guide notes.

?Cars should come with the best safety ratings possible. “At a minimum,” notes the guide, “that means good ratings in the IIHS moderate overlap front test, acceptable ratings in the IIHS side crash test and four or five stars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)