Study Suggests Driver's Ed Cars May Be Unsafe

The USA Today (9/19) "Drive On" blog reports that schools offering driver's ed may be using "unsafe cars," according to a Chicago Tribune and Cars.com study that found that Chicago-area districts teach driver's ed "in smaller, cheaper cars that wouldn't hold up as well in a crash as big vehicles" and have received poor to fair safety ratings -- for example, Chevy Aveos and Cavaliers. The AP (9/19) notes that "some districts don't opt for side air bags when they're available," and that CPS students are using "some of the oldest and worst-rated cars in the state -- cars sometimes older than their student drivers."