September 28, 2009

Getting your driver's license is every teenagers dream. But having your own car may turn that dream into a nightmare.It turns out that teens that have their own car also get into more crashes, and it's probably not for the reasons your thinking of.It's been a right of passage for decades. You finally get your driver's license and then pester your parents for your own car. Getting your own set of wheels in high school is the ultimate form of freedom. But a new study also shows that teens having their own cars, whether they bought one themselves or were given one, or those with free access to a shared car, end up having more crashes then those teenagers who use family cars to get around.At first glance you might think this is because teens with their own cars or free access to a car, drive more and so are more likely to get into accidents. But the researchers involved in this study say that's not so, because they compared teens mile to mile regardless of whether they had free access or had to ask for the key.And they say that is the crucial difference. According to them, teenagers that have to ask for the key also end up being safer on the road probably because their parents were more involved and monitored their driving habits. Keeping teens safer when they exercise that freedom we all looked forward to at one time or another.