About half of youth ages 15 to 17 who died in car crashes were killed in cars more than a decade old, according to a study reported in the journal Injury Prevention. Furthermore, about a third of fatalities involved smaller automobiles.

The study examined fatalities between 2008 and 2012, and researchers discovered that the older the car, the more likely an accident would result in death. More than four-fifths of fatal accidents involved cars at least six years old. Older cars tend to have fewer safety features, and smaller cars are traditionally less safe than bigger cars.

However, there’s another element at work: One reason teens are more frequently killed in older, smaller vehicles is because they tend to drive older, smaller vehicles. They’re more affordable than a shiny new full-size sedan. (USA Today)