Trinity Ag said:
aggie93 said:
Trinity Ag said:
Mas89 said:
Not so sure about that. Both my kid and wife have been hit at an intersection by red light runners. 10 years apart. Real thankful they were in F150/ Tahoe. Pretty sure both would have had significant injuries in a smaller/ lower riding vehicle. Son's truck was totaled and both were bruised/ shaken up.
I'm glad your family is safe, but personal anecdotes don't mean that cars aren't safe.
A young driver in their first 5 years of driving is the time they are most likely to be in a devastating wreck. That's just reality. Doesn't mean that cars are unsafe but it does mean that it is worth prioritizing safety for a young driver. They are by definition inexperienced and they are also most likely to feel invincible. That means they are likely to drive when they are tired or panic or a variety of other activities behind the wheel that can be disastrous.
There are other cars besides trucks that are safer as well, I just cringe when I see parents put their kids in little cars because they are cheaper or they want to save some money driving back and forth to college.
A significant number of fatal injuries stem from single car rollovers -- from distracted driving, from excessive speeding, etc. SUVs are more prone to these type accidents.
You can absolutely paint scenarios where a truck is preferred from pure mass alone.
But they are also more likely to get inexperienced drivers in trouble because of their mass, less responsive braking, and greater instability in emergency maneuvers.
Edit -- I just checked the IIHS data -- this is more true of older models (pre-2009). The broad adoption of stability control has greatly reduced the single vehicle fatality rates of SUVs.
Still, Mazda 3 is a top performer in crash tests. I wouldn't worry about putting a young driver in one -- any more than I would about young drivers driving to begin with.
To each his own. I spent a lot of time teaching my boys how to drive a truck and be responsible. The main thing I like about them is at least it leaves them in control much more than a smaller vehicle. The main issue with trucks is the awareness of the size and space issues but that's usually a fender bender and cameras and warning systems help a lot with that.
You can certainly still die in a pickup truck and especially if you are not paying attention, same as any vehicle. The most important thing of course is teaching your kid how to drive defensively to the point where you make them a little paranoid. For instance with my boys I always say "Rule #1, assume everyone around you is an idiot that wants to cause a wreck". That means slow down, give space, make sure you always have an out and are always thinking multiple steps ahead.
BTW, I would never want my kids in some lifted up monster either. Once they are grown they can go buy their own toys if they want, I just want to make sure they get to that point. I will also say that the reality is that Texas especially has a lot of big vehicles in it and if a Mazda 3 connects with my son's F150 with a Ranch Hand on it it won't be pretty unfortunately. For my son btw he drives a lot through the country, often at night, on his way home. If he hits a deer his main concern will be not panicking and washing off the mess. Hit a deer with a Mazda 3 at any significant speed and it's probably going through the windshield.
If your kid is only doing city driving a small car is probably fine, maybe even better in many cases I suppose. Fatalities are rare driving under 40mph. Like I said to each his own. For my oldest he had an Altima in HS just driving back and forth to school. If he drove pretty much anywhere else he was in my F150 and then when he went to school I got him (with him putting up a good bit) a 2013 F150 with the Ranch Hand. Now my younger son drives my 2015 F150 and he will take it to college. Like I said those funerals really shook me up.