Tag Archives: teens

Teen Safe Driving Tip #3: If you’re a teenager, the most dangerous parts of your day are the parts you spend in a car

I’m happy to announce that my first book on driving safety is now available for purchase here. Beyond Driver’s Ed: 44 Quick Ways to Explain the Risks of Speeding to Teenage Drivers is a guide to explaining the risks of speeding to teen drivers. I’ll publish excerpts from time to time on the blog and dive into the book’s topics in greater detail. Today’s topic is tip #3 in the book; let’s give it a closer look.

If you’re a teenager, the most dangerous parts of your day are the ones you spend in a car.

No matter where you live, statistically, your greatest risks of dying as a teenager involve the times you spend traveling in a car. That applies whether you’re the driver or the passenger, and whether your parents are with you or not. This doesn’t apply to the bus, if you take one.

What does this mean? It means that if you want to keep your teenagers as safe as possible, you’ll want to encourage them to minimize the amounts of time they travel in cars. Let’s look at the numbers to help us visualize just how much of an issue this is from a public health perspective.

What are the exact statistics on death rates by age in the US?

The National Safety Council publishes an annual statistical report categorizing unintentional injuries in the United States. Here’s an example of the 2015 report.

If you skip ahead to page 19 in the 218-page PDF (page 12 by the report’s pagination), you’ll note that unintentional injuries are the 5th highest cause of death across age groups. When researching individual ages, unintentional injuries are the top cause of death for every single year between 1 and 42. Within that subcategory, motor-vehicle deaths are the single greatest factor for both the 5-14 and 15-24 year old cohorts.

What percentage of deaths of teenagers are caused by cars?

Page 45 provides significant information regarding the degree to which unintentional injuries shorten the lifetimes of our teenage sons and daughters in the United States.

Unintentional injuries are a major public health concern affecting children and adolescents in the United States. They are the underlying cause of death in nearly 4 out of 10 childhood mortality cases for people 1-19 years old, and about 41% of the deaths among 15- to 19-year-olds.

In other words, for every 10 deaths in individuals between 13 and 19, 4 of them–nearly half–will be due to unintentional injuries, with motor vehicles contributing to more of those deaths than any other cause. It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean that 40% of teenage deaths are due to auto traffic; the actual figure is significantly smaller, since it would only represent a fraction of that 40%. However, let’s take the time to figure this out for 15-19-year olds:

Teens (15-19 years) made up 27% of the U.S. population between the ages of 1 and 19 and 59% of all injury mortality cases in that age group. Most importantly, about 67% of teen injury deaths are attributed to motor vehicle crashes. Of the 4,298 injury deaths among teens in 2011, 2,863 occurred in crashes.

To put it another way, in the 15-19-year age range, if a teenager died for any reason at all, there was a 41% chance that death was the result of an unintentional injury, and a 67% that this unintentional injury came from a motor vehicle crash. Multiplying .41*.67 provides a figure of .275; in other words, for 15-19-year olds, close to 28% of deaths, or more than 1 out of every 4, was directly attributed to auto traffic.

How many teenagers specifically die each year from car crashes or motor vehicle trauma in the United States?

Per page 45 in the NSC 2015 report, in 2011, the number of deaths directly attributable to motor vehicle traffic were as follows:

100    13-year olds,
156    14-year olds,
213    15-year olds,
414    16-year olds,
543    17-year olds,
820    18-year olds,
873    19-year olds.

Note how the number of deaths continued to increase with the year of the adolescent. This, of course, was also directly related to the increased rate of driving with age, particulalry between 15 and 16, where the rate nearly doubled, and between 17 and 18, where a number of adolescents leave home on a full time basis to attend college or begin working.

How often does someone die from a car crash in the United States?

In 2013, there were approximately 35,000 fatalities from auto traffic; that works out to 680 deaths a week, or 97 deaths a day, 4 deaths an hour, or one death every 15 minutes. The injury rate, in terms of injuries requiring hospitalization, works out to 4.3 million a year, or 82,700 a week, 11,800 a day, 490 an hour, or 7 every seconds.

This information is available on page 44 of the NSC 2015 report.

Why don’t the above findings apply to taking the school bus?

The above findings don’t apply to taking the school bus because school buses are by far the safest form of transportation for children as well as one of the safest overall forms of transportation; this has much to do with the physics and design of school buses, but it also has to do with how, when, and where they’re driven; you can learn more about this topic in this article on school bus safety. Despite the occasional tragic story that makes the news whenever a number of school children die while riding the bus, these events are statistically very rare and much less likely to occur than the daily tragedy of children dying due to traveling in personal motor vehicles.

What can we do to reduce the odds of our teens dying in cars?

To reduce the odds of teenagers dying in motor vehicle collisions, the simplest step is to reduce the amount of time teens spend in or around motor vehicles; this can be done in a number of ways, but perhaps the most effective is to delay the acquisition of driver’s permits and licenses by teenagers. For a number of additional tips on how to turn teenagers into safer drivers, you can review a number of best practice findings for teenage drivers here.

Mike, I’d like to buy your book and learn more about how to keep my teen safe. Where can I get it?

You can buy this book at Amazon here (or via Canada or the UK).

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can  shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Join us in the forums!

When Should Your Teenager Get a Driver’s License? Not Before 18!

The later teens drive independently, the safer they become behind the wheel
The later teens drive independently, the safer they become behind the wheel

In the United States, we have a heavy driving culture. Millions of teenagers began driving throughout the country as soon as they’re eligible to take their driver tests, which is at 16 in most states, with the notable exception of New Jersey at 17. However, as is often the case when comparing actual practices to best practices, just because teens can legally drive from when they turn 16 doesn’t mean this is what’s best–neither for teens, nor for society. An analysis of the risk teen drivers pose to themselves and others, as well as comparisons of driving and licensing patterns in comparable countries around the globe, suggests the age for independent driving and licensing shouldn’t be 16, but 18. Let’s take a closer look at why together.

Teens are most likely to be involved in fatal collisions at 16

 The numbers are clear: 16-year-olds are more likely to be involved in collisions, fatal or otherwise, than drivers of any other age. Specifically, the IIHS chart above notes the rate of fatal crash involvement per 100 million miles traveled was 9.1 at 16, compared to 6.6 at 17 and 3.8 at 18. From 18, the rate of fatal crash involvement remained virtually constant between 3.6 and 3.8 until drivers reached the 30-34 age bracket, at which point the rate of fatal crash involvement dropped again to 1.8. I’ve written about teen crash involvement before, and while the risks are primarily related to male teens, this is a problem we need to tackle with all teenagers and all parents.

This chart alone explains why teenagers shouldn’t drive alone at 16. Simply waiting a year cuts the risk of death by 27%, and waiting another year until 18 before independent driving cuts the risk by 58% compared to the risk of death faced by a 16-year-old driver. To put it another way, if 100 16-year-olds were involved in fatal crashes in their first (and final) year of driving, it’s likely that 42 of them would have survived their first year of driving had that cohort of 100 drivers begun driving at age 18 instead of at age 16.

If we simply delay our children’s independent driving by a couple of years, they effectively become as safe as drivers nearly a decade older. We need to give them the gift of time.

But doesn’t this just mean that 18 year olds have 2 years more driving experience than 16 year olds? What about new 18 year olds vs new 16 year olds?

It’s tempting to think that the only reason the driver death rates drop so dramatically between 16 and 18 is because all of the 18 year olds have the benefit of the 2 years of driving and hopefully not dying between 16 and 18. However, numerous studies have found this to be erroneous, whether in the US, Canada, or overseas.

A Canadian study found in 1992 that novice 16 year olds were more likely to be injured while driving than novice 17 or 18 year olds, with novice drivers defined as those with under a year of experience. A meta analysis of 11 studies since 1990 found the same results: 16 year old new drivers were more likely to crash than new older drivers.

It’s not about driving experience; it’s about cognitive development and life experience. Sixteen year olds simply aren’t as ready to drive as 18 year olds. Giving them lots of training before they turn 16 doesn’t change this, whether that training comes from parents or from driving instructors. This doesn’t mean that supervised driving time is meaningless for teenagers; it’s very valuable. However, it can’t overcome, statistically speaking, the increased risk of allowing unsupervised driving before 18. A 14-year old with 400 hours of supervised driving experience is still going to be a poorer driver than a 16-year old with 200 hours of supervised experience, because training time can’t overcome maturity when the maturity gap becomes too large. By the same measure, that 16-year old with 200 supervised hours will, statistically speaking, still be a much more dangerous driver than an 18-year old with 100 supervised hours.

Delaying licensing until 18 gives parents more time to drive with their teens

Besides the maturity that comes with having two additional years of life experience, a significant reason why teenagers are safer drivers at 18 than they are at 16 is because they have more experience behind the wheel. However, what we want is to give them supervised experience so they aren’t gaining experience while engaging in risky behavior (e.g., driving at night, driving with passengers, having minimal supervised hours, etc). To that end, when we require our teens to wait before obtaining their licenses, we can spend more time driving with them and modeling and monitoring safer driving tactics. We can take the time to choose safer vehicles for them rather than simply choosing the cheapest ones we can find because we feel pressured to reward them as soon as they turn 16.

Remember: teenagers driving in and of itself isn’t the problem; most teens manage to drive responsibly enough while under their learners’ permits or while taking their drivers’ tests to obtain licenses. The problem is that when teenagers drive on their own, there is a strong tendency for them to leave behind responsible driving habits and engage in risky behavior. The more time we spend driving with them, the more likely they are to internalize safe driving habits that they’ll be more likely to use when we don’t drive with them.

Sweden and Norway don’t license their teens until  they turn 18

Finally, it’s worth considering the practices of countries with significantly safer driving cultures than those domestically. Sweden and Norway feature two of the lowest auto death rates on the planet per capita (at <3/100,000 people, compared to roughly 10-11/100,000 in the US), and both countries also feature the lowest rates of child auto fatalities on the globe. What do they do to keep their youngest drivers safe?

You guessed it: both countries restrict the age of licensure for car driving to 18. Both countries allow supervised driving before 18, just as in the US, but neither country allows teenagers to get behind the wheel without adults until they turn 18, without exception. They have extensive driver preparation and training programs as well, and in Norway, in particular, it can cost up to $4,000 to obtain one’s license before all is said and done, due to the various safety classes one must take on the way to licensure.
What can we take away from all of this?

Driving is a serious responsibility, not only for the driver but for every other citizen who may be impacted by the driver’s competence. In Sweden and Norway, where citizens are less likely to die from auto traffic than in any other wealthy country on the planet, no one drives a car before s/he turns 18. There’s just too much at stake. On the way to driving at 18, teens get lots of supervised practice, take lots of classes, and need to prove their competence in a number of ways. They take driving seriously there. Here, we lose approximately 2,600 13-19-year-olds each year. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can change the driving culture.

However, it starts with changing how we view driving, and how easily we’re willing to turn over the keys to our children. We can’t wait for the laws of 50 states to come together toward best practice; there isn’t a single state that’s following best practices yet. But as parents, we can take the first steps and make sure we aren’t putting our children in harm’s way any sooner than necessary, and not a minute before we’ve shared everything we know with them about safe driving. The stakes are too high to treat driving as a simple rite of passage.
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If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.

Two Big Reasons Why Lower Horsepower is Safer for Teen Drivers

High horsepower and teenage drivers don't mix well.
High horsepower and teenage drivers don’t mix well.

It’s tough shopping for a car for your teenage drivers. You want them to be safe, of course, but you also don’t want to spend a fortune, especially since college costs are just around the corner (or are already part of your monthly expenses). I’ve written guides for safe and affordable vehicles for young drivers in the past, and there are simply more issues to consider than when buying vehicles for safer drivers with larger budgets. Even organizations like the IIHS don’t necessarily steer parents in the right directions.

It’s easy to overlook details, as a result, when trying to make the right decisions. Airbags? Of course! ESC? Definitely! Good crash scores? Yes! But there’s a bit more to the picture when it comes to choosing a safe vehicle for your teen driver. One of the most significant areas parents tend to overlook, in my experience, is the horsepower of the vehicles they’re considering for their children. And this can be a rather big area to overlook. Let’s dive into why.
Why is it important to consider horsepower when looking at cars for teen drivers? Aren’t safety features more important?
It’s absolutely true that safety features like crash scores, airbags (front and side), and ESC should be your first priorities when looking for vehicles for teen drivers; these features should also be your priorities when looking for personal or family vehicles at any stage of life. However, horsepower is also particularly important when choosing vehicles for teen drivers because it’s rather significantly linked to the way your teens are likely to drive once alone behind the wheel. To put it simply, vehicles with higher horsepower tend to encourage more dangerous styles of driving, while vehicles with lower horsepower tend to encourage safer driving, either directly or by not encoruaging more dangerous driving. Let’s look at two specific ways lower horsepower can do your teen drivers a favor.
1. Teens are less likely to speed in vehicles with less horsepower
 Speeding is implicated in roughly one out of every three fatal crashes, per the NHTSA, although the actual figures are likely much higher, given the near universal prevalence of speeding in our society. However, given that teenagers are more likely to be involved in fatal crashes per mile traveled than any other group of drivers until age 80, and that male teenage drivers are more than 4x as likely to be involved in fatal crashes than male drivers between 30 and 70 (and almost 6x as likely as female drivers between 30 and 70), it’s in our best interest as parents to do whatever we can to reduce the risks of our teenage drivers making bad decisions. This is particularly the case if we’re parents of male teenage drivers, who are statistically the most dangerous drivers on the road.
High horsepower is seductive to teenage drivers for the same reasons it seduces older drivers; it’s exciting and makes driving seem more fun, more exciting, more like a video game. Our culture glorifies speed and adrenaline and excitement; we equivocate the ability to drive quickly with the ability to free ourselves from the worries of society, blaze new paths, and experience all manner of adventure. It’s a big part of why muscle cars are popular among middle-aged and senior adults; speed symbolizes vitality and youth and vigor and power. Unfortunately, these false associations also attract teenagers, who have less life experience than older adults and are less likely to be able to restrain themselves from chasing the thrills that come with speeding.
Vehicles with less horsepower, on the other hand, simply aren’t exciting. Yes, it’s possible to break the speed limit in any vehicle, but we’re much less likely to do it, or at least do it grievously, in vehicles that aren’t designed to do so easily and with impunity.
2. They’re also less likely to engage in risky driving (like aggressive lane-changing, racing with friends or strangers,  and red-light running)

The second and more broad reason to avoid vehicles with high horsepower for ones with low horsepower is that vehicles with less horsepower are less likely to encourage teenagers to engage in a wide range of risky behaviors, including aggressive lane changes, street-racing (whether with friends or with strangers), and running red lights.

The reasons behind this are related to the reasons behind why teens (and all drivers) are more likely to speed when behind the wheels of more powerful vehicles and more likely to drive prudently when piloting normally powered vehicles: the power is seductive. Many studies have shown people are more likely to display aggressive behaviors when driving or commuting than when walking or cycling, and statistically speaking, we’re more likely to act as if we’re characters in action movies (changing lanes rapidly, revving our engines at stop lights, trying to beat stale yellows) when we think we’ve got the muscle beneath the hood to do so. If this doesn’t sound like something you’d do, that’s great! But if you’ve got a teenage driver–and a male one in particular–he or she is unlikely to have as much temperance as you do, and it’s highly likely that you didn’t have as much restraint as you currently do when you were 16, 17, 18, or 19.

Cars with less power are driven more practically and less aggressively, which makes them and their drivers safer.

But I heard higher horsepower was safer, since it allows you to merge safely / avoid errant vehicles / etc…?

This is a frequently-given reason for choosing vehicles with a bit of “get up and go!” as a good friend of mine calls it. However, the truth is that virtually any vehicle made since 2000 onward has more than enough power to merge safely, and you don’t need 250 horsepower to make it into a lane or to avoid a vehicle that has swerved into yours. What you are more likely to do with that extra horsepower is speed or drive recklessly, which is more likely to lead to a collision or a loss of control. Don’t believe the hype; pretty much anything that comes with an EPA sticker has enough power to get you where you need to go or keep up with traffic. If you’re wanting more power just so you can”have it when you need it”, keep in mind that your teenager isn’t going to be nearly as good of a judge of “when s/he needs it” as you are.

What do you recommend as a horsepower limit for vehicles teenagers are likely to drive?

That’s a great question. I hesitate to give a specific number, as different vehicles react differently with different amounts of weight and engine capacities. However, more broadly, I’d recommend choosing the smallest cylinder option available within a given vehicle, and the lowest horsepower trim level available if you have the choice. Again, whatever you choose will have more than enough power to help you travel wherever you’re going safely. The smaller engines and lower horsepower trims, as an aside, will almost always result in better fuel economy too, as the engines won’t be excessively large. And if you’re considering two otherwise similar vehicles, be sure to take a look at the horsepower figures; what you find may surprise you, and may make a large difference in how safe of a driver your teen is when s/he gets the keys.

If pressed for a number, I’d recommend trying to keep the horsepower to 200 or lower, or at least as low as possible past 200 if you can’t get below 200. In my most recent comparison of safe vehicles for teen drivers, for example, that would mean choosing the Galant or Jetta over the Passat or TL; it would mean choosing the CR-V over the Outlander, and the Yaris over the Forte.

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If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.

When Can Children Ride In the Front Seat? For Safety, Not Until 13!

Just because your kids say all their friends ride in the front seat doesn't mean they're ready to.
Just because their friends and older siblings ride in the front seat doesn’t mean they’re ready to.

I’ve written extensively about the benefits of extended rear-facing, reasons to keep kids harnessed well into the elementary school years if possible, and why to keep older children in booster seats until they pass the five-step test for seat belt readiness. However, many parents of older children (or those simply looking ahead) wonder what comes next. Can kids sit in the front seat as soon as they’re ready for adult seat belts?

Not necessarily. Let’s take a closer look at why in this article.

When should children ride in the front seat?

The blunt truth is that the safest place in a car for children, teenagers, and adults of any age is in the back seat. Specifically, the center seat of the farthest rear row possible is, statistically speaking, the safest seat in a passenger vehicle. However, most children and teenagers aren’t going to want to sit in the back forever, even if it’s the safer choice, so what’s the next best thing? To keep kids in the back seat at least until they turn 13.  This is a recommendation directly from the NHTSA.

Why should parents wait until 13, instead of 12, 11, etc, or even 14 or 15 or older?

Waiting until 13 is important because this is a threshold at which most children will generally already have passed the 5-step test for seat belt use, meaning most parents who do nothing else but wait this long before placing their kids in the front row will have a very high chance of having children who can safely use the seat belt in the front row. Additionally, the significant amount of force used in frontal airbags is significantly less likely to severely injure or kill children once they have a certain amount of mass, height, and bone strength; these 3 factors are more likely to be achieved when most children are at least 13 than at earlier ages.

On the other end of the spectrum, it’s quite correct that kids are likely to be in even better strength and shape, physically speaking, at 14 or 15 than at 13, and as noted above, I do believe it would be better to prioritize placing teens and adults in the back seat over the front seat at any age. However, it’s also important to honor and respect the growing autonomy of adolescents, which means each family must find its balance between safety and practicality. To put it simply, if your teens are okay staying in the back seats past 13, by all means do so. It’s unquestionably safer for them than it is for them to be in the front seat. But if you can’t or don’t want to head in that direction, then draw the line at 13.

But I want to speak to my child / reward them / provide them with driving experience / etc!

All of these reasons are frequently chosen by parents who sit their < 13-year-old children in the front row, and as a parent, I understand them. It’s easier to speak to someone beside you than behind you, it’s an easy and effective way of rewarding a child for good behavior, it can promote closeness, and it can also give a child a chance to see what you’re doing as you drive before s/he is ready to get behind the wheel. However, none of these reasons are compelling enough to override the increased safety risk of placing children in the front row before necessary.

Regarding the driving reason in particular…teenagers will learn far more from watching you drive at 16 than they will at 13, much less at 12 or 11 or 10. Certain things are easier to teach at certain stages of development, and cognitively, a 16-year-old will be much more likely to absorb relevant safety lessons related to driving than will a 13-year-old. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t talk to your teen or tween or child about safe driving practices; I started talking to my oldest child about street safety and parking lot safety when she was 1, if not earlier. However, it does mean that you shouldn’t use osmosis as an excuse to place your child in a more dangerous seating position before necessary.

What if my child points out that his/her friends or older siblings are / were sitting in the front seat at (insert age under 13)?

This is one of the most frequently attributed reasons for bypassing the guideline of keeping kids in the back seat until 13. Many parents would prefer to keep their kids in the back seat but move them forward early because of peer pressure. They either hear from their children, or at times from other parents, family members, or even co-workers, that “all” kids were sitting in the front seat by their kids’ age, and that it’s silly, impractical, or unreasonable to expect a child older than 12, 11, 10, 9, etc to sit in the back seat. What do you do then?

Well, you’ve got to make a decision at that point. There are a lot of things in our society related to the safety and welfare of people in relation to the automobile where the societal pressure is to prioritize the automobile over people. Rear-facing past 1 is inconvenient; harnessing past 5 is silly. Booster seats aren’t even required! Everyone speeds! One drink doesn’t make you drunk! Why would you walk or bike when you could drive? It goes on and on.

What’s prudent isn’t always popular. Best practices are often buzzkills. Waiting until 13 is safer, and no one will value the life of your child more than you will.

Remember – avoid driving if you can. If you have to drive, do so as little as possible in the safest vehicles possible, while doing so as safely as possible. And you’ll cut your driving risk a lot more quickly and effectively by reducing your miles, following the speed limit like your life depends on it, never, ever, ever drinking before driving, buckling up as consistently as you breathe, and keeping kids restrained safely through all the stages of child development than you will by buying any passenger vehicle on the market.

If you find my information on best practices in car and car seat safety helpful, you can do your shopping through this Amazon link. Canadians can  shop here for Canadian purchases. Have a question or want to discuss best practices? Join us in the forums!

The Safest Used Cars for High School and College Teens in 2017

How do you keep your grown-up kids safe?
How do you keep your grown-up kids safe?

If you’re a parent of young children, car safety can be complicated in a number of ways (how long do you rear-face? how long do you keep them in a 5-seat harness? when do you stop using boosters? when can they sit in the front seat?). However, you’ve got one big advantage, and that’s that you typically are the one responsible for driving your children everywhere. But this inevitably changes once your kids become old enough to drive if you gift them a vehicle or if they buy their own. What then?

Your worries don’t end once they’re old enough to strap themselves in and turn the key. In fact, in a way, you’ve just traded one set of worries for another; this is particularly the case if you’ve got a male teen (or young adult) driver, given their extremely high propensity for fatal crashes compared to female teen drivers, or all other drivers in general. What can you do to keep your high-school or college-aged kids (because they’re always your kids, no matter how old they get) safe?
That’s precisely what this article’s about. I’m not going to go into general safe driving tips (like avoiding speeding, driving on the right, using DRLs, etc) here; those topics are well worth pursuing and applying, but this article is focused on safe and affordable choices for high school- and college-aged drivers.
What do you define as safe and affordable when it comes to a good car for a teen / high-school / college driver?

As I’ve noted in previous articles on teen drivers, I’m not a fan of the theory that the least experienced drivers (teens, high-schoolers, and college students) should be placed in the heaviest and largest vehicles to keep them safe at the expense of every other driver, pedestrian, and child who shares the roadway. This approach ultimately makes the roads less safe for everyone, and research has shown certain small cars can be much safer than much larger ones; what matters most is the behavior of the driver.

Instead, I recommend only small cars and SUVs and mid-sized cars and completely leave out mid-sized and larger SUVs, minivans, and pickup trucks, which are unnecessary for most teenagers and high schoolers (who ideally should either be driving with parents or driving alone, and certainly shouldn’t be driving with other teens). Even college students don’t need vehicles capable of hauling thousands of pounds of anything or more than 4 passengers at a time (and ideally, they shouldn’t be carrying more than one passenger).

Furthermore, all of my recommendations are around the median price parents are spending ($5,327), and all of my recommendations include vehicles with side airbags, ESC, and good frontal and good side crash scores. Unlike in my previous teen safety ranking, I removed vehicles with only acceptable side crash test scores, as more vehicles have since become available within the budget limit with good side scores. And because fuel isn’t free, I also looked at the fuel economy of each vehicle on the list and provided the numbers below. Keep in mind that these are the pre-adjusted (pre-2008) EPA numbers with older vehicles; what you actually get will be less if you drive more aggressively. All prices are based on private party costs in September 2016 in the Chicago metro area.

The safest used cars for teens, high schoolers, and college students in 2016
Mini cars

yaris - 2007 - publicdomain2010+ Toyota Yaris

The Yaris is a good choice for teens on a budget who prioritize fuel economy; the EPA ratings are 29/35 city/highway in the automatic and 29/36 in the manual. From 2010 onward, ESC is standard, while side airbags are standard from 2009 onward. As with every vehicle on this list, it has both good frontal and side crash test scores. It also has the lowest horsepower on the list at 106, which makes it the safest teen choice, since cars that don’t come with a “fast” reputation are less likely to be used for speeding.

Small cars

forte - 2011 - publicdomain2011+ Kia Forte

The Forte is the only small (compact) car to make the list of safe choices for teen drivers in 2016. It boasts good front and side crash test scores, side airbags, and ESC standard. It’s rated at up to 26/36 city/highway, making it one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles on this list. I’m also a fan of its low top horsepower (173); when it comes to teen drivers, the lower that figure, the better. And additionally, it’s one of the few vehicles on this list with a good roof strength rating and an existing small overlap rating, even though that’s unfortunately marginal.

Small SUVs

200crv - 2005 - publicdomain5+ Honda CR-V

The CR-V, along with the Yaris, is one of the two most reliable vehicles on this list, and is highly recommended for parents who would like vehicles their teens can pay to repair due to low maintenance costs. It comes with ESC and side airbags as standard features from 2005 onward. It has both good frontal and side crash test scores and was rated at 23/29 in the automatic FWD. It’s also one of very few vehicles on the list with an AWD option. I’m also a fan of the lower horsepower at 160 hp.

outlander - 2007 - publicdomain2007+ Mitsubishi Outlander

The Outlander is one of only two small SUVs to make the cut, and it’s another good choice for teens. Originally rated at up to 20/27 mpg city/highway, it’s also fuel friendly. An additional safety bonus is the fact that it comes with an acceptable roof strength rating; most of the vehicles on this list weren’t evaluated for roof strength by the IIHS due to their age. Horsepower is higher than I’d like at 220 hp, but no vehicle is perfect.

Mid-sized cars

tl - 2007 - publicdomain2004+ Acura TL

The TL is essentially a fancy and slightly larger Honda Civic, which says good things about its reliability. It’s also one of the best mid-sized cars on the list when it comes to fuel economy, with old EPA ratings as high as 20/30 city/highway in the manual and 20/28 city/highway in the automatic transmission. A significant downside is the large amount of horsepower; 270 hp is more than any teenager needs on the road.

a4 - 2005 - publicdomain

2005+ Audi A4

The A4 is a souped up Volkswagen, which means it’s going to be expensive to maintain. However, it’s loaded with safety features and was rated at up to 24/32 city/highway, meaning you’ll save a bit at the pump (although you’ll then pay it back by having to fill up with premium…). The main negatives to the A4 beside the cost of maintaining them (which is huge) is the horsepower; they’re available with up to 255 hp, which is far more than any teen driver needs.

passat - 2006 - publicdomain

2006+ Volkswagen Passat

The Passat is another of several VW’s to make the list, which speaks well of VW’s commitment to safety (if not to their resale value). The Passat is essentially a less fancy and slightly larger A4, and is one of the largest vehicles I’m willing to recommend. Mileage is good at up to 23/32 city/highway in the manuals and up to 22/31 city/highway in the automatics in old EPA ratings. Downsides include maintenance and the availability of up to 280 horsepower, which is by far too much. It’s also one of the few vehicles on this list to come with a good roof score.

jetta - 2005 - publicdomain

2009+ Volkswagen Jetta

The Jetta sedan and wagon didn’t make my affordability list last year, but have since fallen into the 5k price range, partially due to VW’s recent emissions scandals. It’s not going to be a very cheap vehicle to maintain compared to many others on the list, but it’s solid from the safety standpoint. As with its larger sibling the Passat, it comes with a good roof strength score. Mileage-wise, it’s at the top of the list, with up to 30/41 city/highway available, although this will require the diesel. Horsepower isn’t terribly high, topping out at 200 hp (remember: less is better).

malibu - 2008 - publicdomain2009+ Chevrolet Malibu

The Malibu is the first domestic vehicle to make the list, but holds its own well, coming in with a good roof strength score and up to 22/33 city/highway miles per gallon. Horsepower is the downside here, as it tops out at 252 hp, which, along with the size of the Malibu, could encourage more risk-taking behavior (though it’s still better than the truly excessive amounts in the Passat and TL).

2010-ford-fusion-pd

2010+ Ford Fusion

The Fusion also represents the domestics well with a good roof strength score as well as all of the other safety features common to vehicles on this list. Mileage is even better than that in the Malibu, with up to 23/34 city/highway available in the “S” configuration. Horsepower, again, is the main downside, topping out at 263 horses.

2010-mitsubishi-galant-pd

2010+ Mitsubishi Galant

Finally, the Galant makes an appearance, although I add it with hesitation since Mitsubishi no longer makes vehicles in the US and appears to be retreating from the US market, which could make spare parts more difficult to find in the future. That said, the Galant is a strong vehicle, and offers an acceptable roof score and up to 21/30 city/highway miles per gallon. Horsepower is also a wonderfully restrained 160 hp.

So would you recommend avoiding high horsepower vehicles for my teen driver, Mike?

Absolutely. While not every teen will use a vehicle with lots of horsepower irresponsibly, if it’s a risk you can avoid, it’s worth avoiding. This is especially the case if your child is male, since teenage boys are far more likely to engage in risky behaviors while driving than female teen drivers, which is reflected in the significantly higher driver death rates for male teens than for female teens.

I hope you’ve found this article helpful and informative as a parent interested in finding safe and affordable transportation for you high-school or college-aged child. We can’t protect them from everything, but we can certainly keep them safer without going into debt or making the roads less safe for others in our communities.

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