Older vehicles are at the center of a recent study that found that nearly half of teen crash deaths from 2008 to 2012 happened in vehicles at least 11 years old, and 82 percent of teen crash deaths were in vehicles at least 6 years old.
Vehicle size was also an issue, with 29 percent of fatally injured teenagers driving mini or small cars, according to the study, conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and
published Dec. 18 in the journal Injury Prevention.
About 60 percent of teens drive cars that are at
least 8 years old, Cars.com reported, and those older cars have fewer safety features such as side airbags and electronic stability control.
"Parents should consider safety when choosing vehicles for their teenagers," the study urges.
Car crashes are the leading cause of death among teens, who are three times more likely than adults to have an accident, the study’s leader, Anne McCartt, a senior vice president of research at the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, told Reuters.
Teens are more likely to speed and less likely to wear seat belts, Keli Braitman, an assistant professor of psychology at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, told the news agency.
"Because of their lack of experience, they're also less able to recognize and handle emergencies and hazards when they arise," she said.
Twitter users had mixed reactions to the report.
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