This article is in response to the many calls and conversations I’ve had over the years with the driving public. It revolves around the question of what vehicle should a young driver be driving.
One of the first things that come to mind is what can you afford? The truth is don’t buy a vehicle based on this question, buy based on safety and sensibility. In an effort to keep this short and on point, I’ll get right to it. What ever decision you make try to keep in mind a young driver will be in the cockpit of your choice. Placing a young driver in a vehicle with a manual transmission and 400 hp is not going to be the best way to start off their rite of passage. Maybe an automatic transmission with as many safety features as possible would be a better start.
There are many safety features available in today’s car market, just to mention a few:
- (ABS) anti-lock braking systems,
- (ESC) electronic stability control,
- (TCS) traction control systems, and
- Pre-collision systems.
In today’s world of technology there are many distractions for a young driver to deal with also, such as navigation systems, entertainment systems, and the dreaded cell phone. Remember the life you save could be that of a young driver that is unaware of the dangers entrusted to them when they receive their license, so the more we give them to work with the better. One of the things that we all over look is the fact that our children ride and learn from what they see, they learn from use. Not to say that we’re bad drivers, just saying we need to be aware of the impressionable young minds in the vehicle.
About the Author
Larry Side is co owner, and VP of operations of the Vehicle Dynamics Institute.
The last (2) sentences in your article says it all! I do think that kids should be taken by their parents/instructors and from a safe distance (but close) look at how fast the cars on the freeway are traveling. One gets (I) did at least a different perspective of how little room there is for error. This same technique should also be applied to surface streets and or intersections.
Safety and Reliability; in that order is what comes to mind for me. Many parents come at this form the mindset of “They are just going to tear their first car up anyway, so I’ll get them the cheapest thing I can for now.” Unfortunately, this attitude strikes right in the heart of your article, so certainly you write timely. The precious cargo should be treated as such – especially with how crazy and distracted our streets are nowadays.
I don’t normally endorse brands openly when off duty but I will say that in all my years of training and coaching in just about every type of driving done; VW has convinced me that they truly do make the safest car on the road. If you’re a parent looking for a first car; a Jetta or Golf are excellent choices if they’ve been maintained. Emergency crews will admit that they go to a non-VW first on a crash site when one is involved. This is because they’ve seen so many, they know the non-VW has not fared as well… This is not a time to think about low-balling it for a dollar’s sake.
Crashing is NOT a valid learning strategy and should never be endorsed by a parent through thinking ‘they’ll just tear this one up…’ You do not know if/when a crash is going to be fatal for any reason. So crashing is NOT OK. The first one might be the last.