What Are The Safest Vehicles for Teens to Drive? — (2021 Edition)

New Consumer Report Reveals Safest Vehicles for Teen Drivers

Approximately 13.2 million teen drivers are on the roads every year, making up approximately 6.4 percent of drivers on the road. When it comes to teen drivers, the world takes a collective effort to make sure that the roads are safe for them and everybody on them.

With drunk driving and distracted driving statistics indicating many dangers on California roads for teen drivers, they need safe vehicles. In 2019, approximately 205,000 teen drivers were injured in car crashes, and 2,042 drivers were killed on the roads.

Statistics for teen drivers on the roads are grim and deadly. Ensuring they are in safe vehicles helps to keep them off of those statistics lists. IIHS and Consumer Reports have produced an updated list of safe vehicles for teen drivers.

This list is a comprehensive collection of safe vehicles for teens that is broken down by the best choices of used cars, good choices of used cars, and recommended used vehicles. These are cars picked by Consumer Reports to ensure parents and guardians are helping teens stay safe on the roads.

The study indicates that for families, reliability and affordability are the second and third priorities when choosing a vehicle for their teens, the first being safety. When you are purchasing vehicles for a tee, don’t forget to check for recalls with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) agency if you are buying used. You’ll want to check this database for new recalls every six months.

At Arash Law, we know it is not just teen drivers that are in collisions on California roads. We want teens to be in safe vehicles that will help them to lead the lives they choose. If you or your teen has been in a car accident, we can help you claim the compensation you deserve. Call our California car accident attorneys today at (888) 488-1391 to book a free review of your case.

Safety Tips for Teen Drivers

When you are a teen driver or have a teen driver on the road, inexperience, immaturity, and nervousness are going to play a role in your driving skills. Getting the safety tips for teen drivers down will help you to feel more confident on the roads.

Driving is a choice for freedom for many teens, but that is not the kind of confidence they need. They need the confidence that comes with feeling safe. Teens statistically have higher crash rates and more fatalities because they are using the wrong confidence on California roads.

They feel grownup and legally able to make grownup decisions, but that doesn’t always go hand in hand with safe driving. So they will make big decisions and then make mistakes on the road. It is even more difficult for them to make safe and confident decisions when they have their friends with them.

That is why the District of Columbia and all 50 states have graduated driver licensing (GDL) to ensure that teens spend the time they need to on the roads. Understanding the GDL laws of your state will help you and every teen driver become practiced on the roads.

Follow these teen driver safety tips for additional safety and security:

• Establish ground rules with a teen driver in your home. Make sure they follow these rules and enforce them when necessary.
• Restrict any driving after evening hours, and don’t let them use their phone when driving.
• Ensure that seat belt rules are enforced, with seat belts being required at all times.
• High school teens drive after drinking approximately 2.5 million times monthly in America. One in 10 teens is likely to drink and drive, and teens are 17 times more likely to be in a crash due to drunk driving than adults. Have frank conversations with your teen about drinking and driving, as well as drug use. Remind them of the laws and the severe consequences of drinking underage. Remind them of the realities of drunk driving crashes. You may have to show them a video or two, and it may feel cheesy, but they work. These facts and statistics make a lasting impression.
• Do what you want your teen to do. If you want your teen to stay sober to drive, do the same thing. Wear your seat belts, don’t drive at night if you don’t have to, and stay off your phone. When they are in the car, they are watching you.
• Supplement any teen driver’s education classes with additional practice sessions with mom, dad, or even an older sibling that drives.

When you are the guardian or parent of a teen driver, your life suddenly has an abundance of new responsibilities. Take care of everyone as soon as possible, and stay consistent. If a crisis occurs, we are here for you. At Arash Law, we want you and your teen to be safe and get the compensation you deserve after a crash. If your teen is in an accident, call our California car accident claims attorneys at (888) 488-1391 for a free review of your case.

Safer Vehicles for Teens

Consumer Reports has divided their updated safe vehicles report to reflect the following categories:

2021 Best Choices Used Vehicles for Teens

The vehicles that are earning the best ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) are earning top safety ratings for moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraints. They are also earning high stars on the driver’s side small overlap front test.

When they are rated by the NHTSA, they earn 4 or 5 stars in the front and side tests when measured by the former star-rating scheme. Each vehicle has a weight of over 2,750 pounds and comes equipped with standard electronic stability control. They also have above-average scores for emergency handling, with above-average being considered a 3 out of 5 stars or higher. Day braking distances are measured at 145 feet or less.

Vehicles are excluded from the list when they have a claim frequency for medical payment or personal injury protection that is higher than average. Prices for each vehicle are Kelly Blue Book prices rounded to the closest $100 and are updated as of May 1, 2021. These are vehicles with no options and the lowest trim levels.

The following criteria are used for each estimate:

Best Choices – Used

Notes that include “built after date” refer to models where the manufacturer makes changes that improve model safety.

Good Choices – Used

For the listed vehicles with decent ratings with the IIHS, factors of moderate overlap front, roof strength, side, and head restraint were tested. Where they earned 4 out of 5 stars or 5 out of 5 stars, they were listed as safe vehicles for teens. Each vehicle has a weight of over 2,750 pounds and comes equipped with standard electronic stability control. Day braking distances are measured at 145 feet or less when the vehicles are going 60 mph.

Again, there are some listings that include a “built after” date. That refers to the time when a manufacturer improves the safety of a model with model changes at some point during the model year. You can learn when exactly a model was made from the sticker that is on the driver’s door.

Recommended New Vehicles

For the listed vehicles with decent ratings with the IIHS, factors of moderate overlap front, roof strength, side, and head restraint were tested. Where they earned 4 out of 5 stars or 5 out of 5 stars, they were listed as safe vehicles for teens. Each vehicle has a weight of over 2,750 pounds and comes equipped with standard electronic stability control.

Day braking distances are measured at 140 feet or less when the vehicles are going 60 mph. Again, there are some listings that include a “built after” date. That refers to the time when a manufacturer improves the safety of a model with model changes at some point during the model year. You can learn when exactly a model was made from the sticker that is on the driver’s door.

When you are looking for a safer vehicle for your teen, you want to take all of these factors into consideration. Their safety star rating and where they land on these safety lists should be important considerations for you as you get your teen ready for safe driving.

At Arash Law, we want your teen to be as safe as possible on the roads. When there is a problem, we can be there for you. Even the safest cars wind up in car accidents. When your teen has been in a car accident, our California car accident lawyers can help. Call our personal injury lawyers today at (888) 488-1391 for a free review of your case.

Causes of Teen Car Accidents

Car accidents are the second leading cause of death for teens after suicide. In 2019, accidents with teens caused 7 percent of all car accident fatalities. Unfortunately, 78 percent of the deaths happened to passengers of the cars.

The most common causes of car accidents are as follows:

• Inexperience
• Nighttime and weekend driving – 40 percent of teen fatalities in 2019 occurred at night.
• Low seat belt use rates – Only 87 percent of teens use seat belts, and that leads to fatalities.
• Distracted driving – Driving performance is negatively impacted by distractions such as eating, texting, putting on makeup, and it causes deaths and injuries every year.
• Speeding – Teens are more likely to speed than adults. Approximately 30 percent of teen drivers in crashes were speeding. Males are more likely than women to speed.
• Drinking and driving – 16 percent of teens have been in a car with a teen driver who has had alcohol, according to one survey.

In many cases, some of these factors go hand in hand. The same IIHS report indicates that 69 percent of teen drivers that were killed in a drinking and driving accident did not have a seat belt on.

Many fatalities or personal injuries on the roads also likely have strong connections between distracted driving and drinking and driving. When this has happened to your family, a personal injury lawyer can help.

Book a Free Consultation With a California Personal Injury Lawyer Today

When you have a teen driver, you have a new life with worst-case scenarios running through your mind at every turn. Fatalities from car crashes are the second leading cause of death for teens after suicide. The number of personal injuries for teens is far greater. Think about these statistics every day that your child gets behind the wheel or leaves with a friend who is driving.

To help you worry a little bit less, this Consumer Report gives you some options when it comes to providing safer vehicles for teens. Still, when accidents happen, you want the crisis to be alleviated as much as possible. You don’t have to do that alone.

At Arash Law, we have been serving clients through every kind of car accident possible for decades. If your teen has been in a car accident, we can help. Call our California car accident claims lawyers at (888) 488-1391 for a free review of your case.