Safe and Sound Cars

As the most inexperienced drivers, teens should be in vehicles that will reduce their chances of crashing and protect them if they do.    

But a national survey of parents conducted in 2014 showed that minicars or small cars were the most popular type of vehicle to buy for a teen. Further, more than half of vehicles purchased for teens were more than eight years old. Teens who drove a vehicle that the family already owned were even more likely to drive an older model -- two-thirds of those parents said the vehicle was from 2006 or earlier.

What impact does the size and age of the vehicle have on the driver?

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Anne Taylor McCartt, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President, Research, at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in Arlington, Virginia, where she leads a multidisciplinary research staff whose work centers on finding ways to change driver behavior, improve roadway design, and make vehicles safer. She has authored more than 170 technical reports and scientific papers on such topics as alcohol-impaired driving, distracted driving, and teenage drivers. She was president of the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine and serves on expert committees and advisory boards of the Transportation Research Board and other safety organizations. Dr. McCartt received a B.A. magna cum laude from Duke University and her Ph.D. in public administration and policy from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany.