Keep Safety in Mind While Car Shopping for Your Teen
Want to find the best and safest car for your new teen driver? Think in a defensive driving mode. Young drivers do not have the driving experience to know what to look for but you should. No matter how much pressure they put on you to buy what they want, you need to keep certain guidelines in mind.
Focus on safety features such as electronic stability control and curtain airbags as well as good crash test results. Never consider a car without antilock brakes. In general the larger, heavier autos do better in crash tests. But extremely large vehicles can be difficult to handle and too much for a young driver, as well as poor fuel economy and would allow your teen to carry more passengers than necessary.
For the most part, SUVs and large pickups are not recommended due to their high centers of gravity, which may cause them to roll over more than other vehicles. And sports cars are always a bad choice for a new driver. They just have too much speed for that level of maturity. So as much as your young son wants to have a car he can race, you need to put the brakes on a potentially dangerous combination.
Consumer Reports has done extensive research on autos that are appropriate for young drivers. Their conclusions take into consideration desirable features and safety and budgetary constraints. The best bet is to find the newest, most reliable model with the most safety equipment you can afford. You can view their results at:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/01/cars-for-teen-drivers/index.htm
To insure your teen is equipped to drive safely you should always enroll them in an advance driver training course. And to be sure they know the rules of the road have them take the Wirelessdefensivedriving.com course. As Sir Francis Bacon put it, “Knowledge is power”.
