New Automated Safety Features Could Make Driving Much Safer for 1 Particular Group
Bellina Gaskey
· 3 min read
As the automotive industry evolves, cars are being crammed with more and more
technology
, in particular, high-tech safety features.The goal is always to make driving safer for all, and a big part of that is curbing the dangerous habits which lead to collisions, injuries and fatalities. One group in particular has historically seen a high number of all three: teen drivers.
In an effort to make driving, and teen drivers in particular, safer, crash-avoidance car safety features have changed to become more teen-oriented.
Evolution in car safety tech
According to an article by
Insurance Journal
, teen drivers are four times more likely to be involved in a vehicle collision, and more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than almost any other age group.Due to high rates of speeding among teen drivers, low use of seat belts, and inexperience, teen drivers are more likely to be unsafe on the road.
To counteract this, car safety features such as blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, speeding prevention, and gear shift locking features to encourage seat belt use have been implemented
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Teen-centered tech
Teen-specific technologies, such as speeding prevention or nighttime curfew notifications, can actually alert parents to their teen’s driving habits.
If the collision-prevention technology works as it should, combined with parents monitoring their teen’s driving and enforcing safety rules, it could lead to a dramatic decrease in collisions involving teens.
However, some parents aren’t even aware of all the safety features their cars have included. Some don’t quite trust the new technology.
Better safety, better benefits
The truth is that along with better safety features, cars installed with this kind of new tech can also add another benefit for teen drivers: cheaper insurance.
As a high-risk driving group, teens pay on average more for their insurance, until they can prove themselves more experienced and therefore safer drivers.
As teens tend to have the typical bad habits that car insurance companies hate, (i.e. not wearing their seatbelts, speeding, etc.) and are involved in more serious collisions on average, insurance premiums can get costly.
Teens also tend to drive older car models that aren’t equipped with the latest and greatest in car safety features. Largely due to the price tags that come with newer cars.
It’s more likely that parents will be driving a car that is actually safer—and more educational in car safety features--for their teens to drive.
In the long run, these newer cars would be cheaper for teens to drive, too, since insurance companies are more trusting of the car safety features installed.
