Why Passing The Family Car Down To A Teen Could Be A Deadly Decision

Teens driving older vehicles are more likely to die in accidents, study shows

COLUMBUS, Ohio — That aging family sedan your teenager is driving? It might be a death trap, an eye-opening study concludes.

Research from Nationwide Children’s Hospital reveals that teens are more likely to be driving outdated vehicles with missing safety features when deadly car accidents happen—and it’s boosting their odds of dying when wrecks occur.

Scientists analyzed five years of fatal crash statistics and found teenagers were more often behind the wheel of cars older than 15 years in deadly wrecks. Every extra year of vehicle age increased death likelihood, while each missing safety technology bumped fatality risk by 6%.

The Hand-Me-Down Danger

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, challenge the common practice of handing down aging vehicles to new drivers, especially as traffic collisions remain the number one killer of American teenagers. Between 2012 and 2021, teen driver deaths jumped 13%, with over 2,100 teenagers dying on the roads in 2021 alone.

Many well-meaning parents pass along their aging cars to newly licensed teens without realizing they’re increasing risk. The study examined records from 81,145 drivers caught in fatal crashes between 2016 and 2021.

The research team, headed by Fangda Zhang from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, compared vehicles driven by teenagers (15-18 years old) versus middle-aged drivers (31-55 years old) in deadly crashes.

Older Cars, Higher Risks

Among teen drivers studied, nearly 28% were driving cars older than 15 years when their fatal accidents happened—significantly more than the 23% rate for middle-aged drivers. Teens also had fewer vehicles with modern safety systems that prevent or reduce crash severity.

The numbers tell a troubling story: driving 6-15 year old vehicles brought a 19% higher death risk compared to newer models (under 5 years old), while cars exceeding 15 years of age hiked death risk by 31%.

“Older vehicles are more likely to malfunction due to degraded components like brakes and tires, less-robust design standards, and increased mechanical issues, which elevate the risk of crashes and crash fatalities,” the researchers explained in their paper.

Safety technology made a measurable difference. Every added driver assistance feature—adaptive cruise control, forward collision warnings, lane assistance systems, or advanced lighting—cut death risk by 6% when crashes happened.

What Parents Can Do

The findings offer essential guidance for anyone with teenage drivers. Instead of giving teens the family’s oldest car, parents should focus on safety features when choosing their child’s first vehicle.

“These findings suggest that older vehicles and those with fewer driver assistance technologies are associated with increased risk of driver death in fatal crashes; thus, teens should drive the safest vehicles available, not older family cars,” the researchers wrote.

Modern safety systems provide real-time help that either prevents crashes entirely or reduces how bad they are. Automatic emergency braking can spot and react to dangers faster than humans. Blind spot systems warn about cars hiding in your mirrors’ blind zones, while stability control keeps vehicles from spinning out during emergency maneuvers.

For families without money for newer cars, better maintenance of older vehicles might improve safety. Researchers also suggested nationwide safety checks for vehicles over 15 years old, since regular inspections help catch dangerous defects that cause crashes.

Pediatricians and family doctors can also help by educating families about these risks. During teens’ checkups as they approach driving age, healthcare providers should discuss vehicle safety alongside other risk factors.

The bottom line is simple: teen drivers need the newest, safest vehicle a family can afford—not the outdated hand-me-down that nobody else wants to drive.