Teen Drivers at Higher Risk in Older Cars: Study

Advanced safety technologies might seem like luxury items, but they’re saving lives.

According to a recent report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), most American teens killed in crashes were behind the wheel of older vehicles that weren’t equipped with the technology to protect them. According to IIHS, teens are three times more likely to die in a car crash than adults over 20, so it’s especially important for teens to be driving vehicles with not only the best crash protection, but the most effective safety features.

SEE ALSO: How to Keep an Eye On Your Teen Driver

By reviewing data from the government’s Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS), IIHS compared the types of vehicles driven by teens who were killed in accidents between 2008 and 2012 with those driven by middle-aged adults. It found that 48 percent of teen drivers killed in accidents were driving vehicles more than 11 years old meaning that even electronic stability control (ESC) was likely rare on those vehicles. Of the teens in the study, no more than about 12 percent were driving vehicles with ESC as standard or optional equipment.

IIHS also noted that teenagers killed while driving were also more likely to be driving smallers cars than middle-aged drivers. The organization also noted that the overall rate of driver deaths in vehicles that weigh under 3,000 lbs is 75 percent higher than in vehicles that weigh over 4,000 lbs. Of the teens killed, nearly 30 percent were driving small and mini cars versus just 20 percent for adults.