Parents hoping to save a little money on a first car for their child by opting for something smaller or older and a little cheaper may be exposing their offspring to safety risks, a study indicates.
Teen drivers in fatal car crashes were 46 percent more likely to be driving cars in the "small" or "mini" category that middle-age drivers, researchers found.
In addition to size, the vehicle age was also a factor, they report in the BMJ journal Injury Prevention.
In fatal crashes or collision, teens were 10 percent more likely than their middle-age counterparts to be driving a car 6 to 10 years old, and 17 percent more likely to be behind the wheel of a car 11 to 15 years old, the researcher found.
The size difference between a smaller vehicle and full size sedan or SUV is significant since "all other things being equal, occupants in bigger, heavier vehicles are better protected than those in smaller, lighter vehicles," they wrote in their published study.
The forces on drivers and passenger curing a collision or crash is influenced by both the size and weight of the vehicle, and "the magnitude of these forces is directly related to the risk of injury," they said.
Many older cars are lacking in significant safety features present in new models, the study authors say.
"We know that many parents cannot afford a new vehicle," lead author Anne McCartt, senior vice president for research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, says. "Our message to parents is to get the most safety they can afford."
The researchers based their study on data collected between 2008 and 2012 by the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System, focusing on 2,420 drivers aged 15 to 17 and 18,975 drivers ages 35 to 50.
The system records all vehicle crashes occurring on U.S. public roads that result in at least one death.
While the exact percentage of teenage drivers who are in older cars is unknown, there's plenty of evidence they would be safer in newer cars, says Tony Fabio, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Center for Injury Research Community Action.
"We know that teens are less likely than adults to be wearing seat belts and that may be partially because they are driving older cars in which the belts may not work as well," Fabio says. "And you have to think about that in the context of an older car that might not have an air bag."
