Fast Cars, Young Drivers Don't Mix; Recent Street Racing Deaths Offer a Lesson to Parents of Young Drivers.

Lifestyle Editors/Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 2003

A recent string of deadly street racing collisions highlights a lethal combination: young drivers and speed.

The stories are tragically similar, involving young drivers, speed and death:

-- An 18-year-old driver died after crashing in a drag race 

outside an Ontario elementary school Tuesday.

-- A 24-year-old mother of three died in Oakland last weekend

when the car she was riding in crashed at speeds close to 100

mph.

-- Last week, a 25-year-old Santa Ana man was charged with

vehicular manslaughter after he lost control of his car in a

street race, striking a car driven by a 74-year-old woman. She

was killed instantly.

Though street racing dangers are not limited to teens, the influence of parents on beginning drivers both in developing good driving habits and in selecting safe vehicles could help prevent these deadly accidents.

Traffic collisions are the leading cause of death for U.S. teenagers, accounting for 39 percent of all deaths between the ages of 16 and 19.

Speed is a factor in 29 percent of all fatal crashes in the United States. In California, teen drivers' rate of speeding violations per mile traveled is triple that of drivers 30 years and older, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The attraction of young drivers to fast cars mirrors marketing trends both by Detroit auto manufacturers and Hollywood filmmakers. A new generation of youth-oriented performance cars has been featured in auto shows and films like the upcoming "2Fast 2Furious."

From souped-up showroom models of the Ford Focus and Toyota Matrix, to aftermarket car parts divisions such as MazdaSpeed, the emphasis of these cars is on specs, style and speed. But safety should be a priority for car buyers, especially for vehicles intended for teenagers.

In California, teen drivers represent about 4 percent of the driving population, but are involved in 8.8 percent of all fatal collisions and 9.9 percent of all injury collisions, according to the California Highway Patrol.

"Your teen may want to drive the newest `hot wheels,' but be sure to factor safety into the mix," said Candysse Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California. "Being a new driver is tough enough without adding sport to it."

-- Be involved in your child's driver education, and stick to the

guidelines of California's graduated license laws. Parents

play a critical role in making sure that teen safety laws

work.

-- Steer your young drivers away from high-risk vehicles such as

performance cars and SUVs, which can be top-heavy and prone

to rollovers. The IIHS offers families a comprehensive list of

crash test results at www.iihs.org.

-- The cost of insurance is impacted not only by driving record,

but also by the vehicle driven. Cars with high theft rates,

costly replacement parts or poor crash test performance

typically cost more to insure.

IINC is a non-profit, non-lobbying insurance trade association dedicated to helping consumers understand insurance and safety issues.