Teen Driving Week at Carsala: Part One

Image from Wired.com

Teen driving now has a fresh young face from the NASCAR world to help promote a program designed to teach safety to teens.

Colin Braun, 20-year old NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver has teamed up with Ford Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) to promote the importance of safe driving to teens around the country.

Mile for mile, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers. Ford Motor Company has a wonderful program called Driving Skill for Life, through which teens are able to improve their skills in four key areas that are critical factors in more than 60 percent of teen vehicle crashes: Hazard Recognition, Vehicle Handling, Space Management, and Speed Management.

Braun, now in his second year driving the No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150 for Roush Fenway Racing, knows the importance of safe driving on and off the track. As part of the yearlong partnership, Braun will participate in DSFL hands-on training events and various nationwide teen safe-driving initiatives.

“I am pleased to be a part of the Ford Driving Skills For Life program. Having grown up racing all my life, I learned early on there is a time and place for driving fast, but public roads are not it.” said Braun. “I think teenagers are more likely to listen to a message coming from someone closer to their own age, so I hope my involvement will make a difference teaching young drivers how to be safer on the road.”

Throughout the year visitors to www.DrivingSkillsforLife.com will have a chance to view Braun’s blog dedicated to safe driving tips, videos, photos and updates from his race season.

Too many people write about how to be a parent instead of how to pick your child’s first car.

Let’s talk car – but in terms everybody can understand.

The usual criteria for picking a car for anybody applies to pick a car for your teenager. However, on this post I’ll focus on what’s different when you’re shopping for your teenager.

First and foremost is Crash Safety:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers. Don’t trust your instinct that “bigger cars are safer.”  It’s not always true.

The crash star rating system may be perplexing, so I found the following graphic about what the star ratings mean.  Note that a four star rating compared to a five star rating, will approximately double the chance of serious injury.

NHTSA Crash Test Star Ratings System

Secondly, Drive Type:

By drive type, I am referring to four wheel drive (4WD,AWD) vs. two wheel drive (2WD), and front wheel drive (FWD) vs. rear wheel drive (RWD).  If you live in an area with snow or ice, you may really want to get a four wheel drive car to help keep your child safe in extreme driving conditions.  Otherwise, you’re just going to spend more on the car and insurance.

Front wheel drive cars, compared to rear wheel drive cars, have been shown to be safer in wet and snowy conditions.  Basically, the engine puts more weight on the front drive tires which improves traction as the front tires pull the car through water and snow.  For a new driver, this could be really important.

By now you’re thinking that this is a lot of information to so here are some quick recommendations. All of these vehicles have excellent crash test results (by NHTSA), outstanding reliability, and are from brands that usually don’t command a strong premium.  I have noted the drive type for each vehicle.

• 2006-2007 Hyundai Sonata, 4 cyl. engine (FWD)
• 2006 Kia New Optima 4-DR with Side Air Bags  (FWD)
• 2004,2005,2007 Subaru Forester (AWD)
• 2004-2006 Mitsubishi Endeavor (FWD or AWD)

Now that you’re well versed on what to consider when buying the car for your child, you are free to talk about when to buy the car, how much to spend, your ability to revoke the car, if your child should pay for some of the car or just promise to get good grades, or how you will have more free time if your child drives.

My oldest daughter is still years away from driving so leave me some comments about how to deal with my own child when driving age knocks on my door (or honks from the street).