Auto Safety Ratings

While I am on the topic of teenage driving safety, let’s consider the types of autos we let our kids drive. If we are concerned about safety, why would we let our kids drive a Chevy Camaro Z24 or a Ford Mustang 5.0? If you put young drivers into a high performance car they will drive it like a sports car. It is what you would expect; you and I would drive it the same way.

As parents we can use common sense and put our kids into cars that have high safety ratings. How do you know what a car’s safety ratings are? Go to The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website at http://www.iihs.org/; click the link for Vehicle Ratings; and select the vehicle you what to check out. For example, I compared a Dodge Neon, a car that is popular with young drivers with a Honda Civic. For model years 2000 – 2005 the Neon gets a “Marginal” rating; for years prior to 2000 the Neon receives a “Poor” rating. A Honda Civic gets an “Acceptable” rating for 1996 – 2000 models and a “Good” rating for 2001 and newer models. Which car makes the most sense, safety wise?

Take a moment, look at the safety rating of your own auto… you might be surprised.