As parking spots fill up and parents’ hair start falling out, many students at Bellarmine are getting behind the wheel. Many risks and responsibilities are raised when driving, especially as a teen driver. Being new and inexperienced causes more mistakes and confusion while on the road. Many families take into consideration the safety features and cost of a car. But there are so many cars out there, some old and some new. So the question is, would a new car be worth the money to ensure the safety of a teenage driver?
As of 2022, a study was conducted showing that nearly 6 teenagers between the ages of 15 to 20 are killed in car accidents each day. So nearly 2,000 teenagers are lost a year due to fatal car accidents.
Junior Adeline Kelly reflected on this study and explained how she is grateful for a newer car due to safety features, “I favor having a newer car than an older one, due to the increase in safety features. Which provides me with a security blanket, so to say.”
To further elaborate on which safety features helped her most on the road, talked about lane assist, “Lane assist is a great feature for young inexperienced drivers to have because it’s unrealistic to trust that both new and old drivers are going to be able to stay 100 percent focused 100 percent of the time, so new features such as lane assists, while not always necessary, can be a life-saving tool to protect drivers, especially young teens, who may have a moment of carelessness while on the road.”
A study done on rates of teen driver injuries and fatalities showed that both crash avoidance features showed big benefits on the road. Front crash prevention, lane departure prevention and blind spot monitoring has prevented about a third of teen driver deaths and a quarter of teen driver injuries in 2021.
Students at Bellarmine have said the safety features in their car have prevented a numerous number of collisions. Although newer cars cost an arm and a leg, studies have shown the benefits and statistics of safety features within newer cars.
