I couldn’t help posting this up. I’ve been saying this for years and everyone scoffs at the idea.
At least I’m not the only one.
Here is a link to the whole article. It talks about how it’s impossible to drive a performance car to it’s full potential on the streets here within the confines of our laws.
Here is the gem though:
There’s an important thing to understand about fast cars, though. A faster car is a safer car. All of the things that make a car fast — a powerful engine, big tires, suspension that hugs the road — also mean it’s able to get out of sticky situations faster.
When passing on a two-lane road, you’re not exposed to oncoming traffic as long, because you’re able to accelerate faster. More grip makes it easier to swerve around situations that slower cars might not have the time or space to avoid.
Most important of all, most fast cars (and there are unfortunately a few exceptions) also have much deeper reserves of braking performance than slower cars, meaning you can more likely stop short of an accident instead of becoming one. Mercedes-Benz’s SL55 not only has huge eight-piston front calipers and vented discs, but also senses when it’s raining and gently applies the brakes every once in a while to keep them dry and ready for action.
Now if only I could find the link I once had to statistics showing that cars with more than 200 hp get in less accidents than those with less.
Quote all the stats you like, it's not going to change that fact that I drive a Neon,(starts to shake at 120km/hr) and have never gotten into an accident, I've lost count as to how many accidents you've had. So here are a some questions for you.
Were the accidents your fault? If not then why weren't you able to avoid them in your fast car? If yes well then … A safe car is only as safe as it's driver is.
Purhaps the trick to driving (fast or slow cars), is to know the limitations of your car, take that into consideration when you are driving and make allowances for other people's stupidy. That's what I do and I've done pretty well thus far. The other trick is to take your time and relax. I don't understand why people are in such a rush to get everywhere. Drive safe, arrive alive and happy.
I've had 3 accidents that were my fault, and only two of them had to do with driving too fast. The first happened years ago with a different car and would have been avoided if the car were more capable. The second involved a big patch of black ice under a bridge. I learned from both though and certainly my driving habits have changed because of them. I make no excuses for bad driving, but bad driving can't be blamed on the car.
The third was only half my fault for not paying enough attention while pulling out into a turn lane to notice the car illegally driving up the center lane into where the turn lane began.
In the only other major collision I had, driving quickly allowed me to avoid t-boning a car that pulled a u-turn directly in front of me. I was able to avoid the direct collision and get around him before he caught me in the rear quarter as I very nearly made it past. A lesser car would not have been able to do that.
I think my reputation for being accident-prone may be somewhat exaggerated. Last time my car was hit I wasn't even in it.
I fully agree that driving safe is the most critical factor to avoiding trouble. Having a more capable car though provides you with more options in the quest to driving safer.
"I've had 3 accidents that were my fault, and only two of them had to do with driving too fast."
*laugh* You do realize you just said that roughly 67% of the accidents that were your fault WERE caused by driving too fast, right? 😉
You know, the article quote is misleading. Yes, a fast car that was designed to be fast, will be safe in the hands of someone who knows how to drive at higher speeds. And a not-originally-fast car that was modified in the correct order with an eye to keeping it safe will be safe in the hands of someone who knows how to drive at higher speeds. A car that was never designed to be fast, and/or was not modified with the appropriate safety upgrades to accommodate increased speed (e.g. not mod-ing the suspension or upgrading the brakes, just plunking a super-charger in and calling it done) will NOT be safe, and DEFINITELY won't be safe in the hands of some dumbass who thinks watching the Fast and the Furious 17 times and playing some NASCAR video game makes him capable of safely operating a vehicle at high speeds.
Yes, a car designed for faster speeds or modded appropriately will be safer than, say, an SUV (but then, what isn't? 😉 ), but the generalization that faster cars are safer cars is flawed.
I like fast cars, I make no apologies for that. Fast cars are more interesting, more fun and more capable than slower cars but I do not think they are not safer purely because faster. As the very article you are quoting states, they are safer because they are equipped with better brakes, grippier tires, better suspension, etc. The pure fact that they are faster doesn't make them safer. A slower car with all these features would likely be even safer than a similar fast car.
There are the rare occasions where being in a faster car MIGHT be able to get you out of a situation but I think more often then not, trying to do so will get you into more trouble then it will get you out of.
Make no mistake here. I am not arguing to say that modified cars are safer. It's been my experience that the majority of modified cars are inherently flawed when it comes to safety and thus, worse off than they were when they were new.
Also, as mentioned, along with a properly engineered "fast" car come the associated upgrades such as brakes and tires that will benefit you at any speeds. Those make you safer.
As for the nobrew's assertion that a slower (less powerful) car that is otherwise identical would be even safer, I have to disagree.
The only argument for that would be that it would remove the "temptation" to attempt to go faster in a situation where it will not benefit you. As stated earlier, there is no making excuses for reckless driving. If the driver doesn't know what they're doing, then safety systems can only do so much.
In the case of a competant driver though, the driver must assess the situation in a split second and then make the appropriate decision on how best to avoid a mishap. If they decide that the best course of action is to accelerate and steer out of the way, that option may only be available in the faster car.
I can't see how removing options can make the car safer.
I believe that most of the bad rep that "fast" cars get is due to the fact that idiots prefer driving them. This is not to say that all people who drive fast cars are idiots, just that a lot of driving-idiots prefer being in a fast car, thinking it will somehow miraculously make their driving less idiotic.
I would have no problem if there were a law in place restricting new drivers from driving anything with more than about .05hp/lb. It's absolutely true that you need experience in order to be able to handle the extra power and to be responsible enough not to misuse it.
Of course, there's plenty of people around here who seem to have got their licenses out of a cracker jack box anyway. If you know the right people, I'm told they're still available to be bought.
Add to that the [url=http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1158617411991&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home]complete scams passing themselves off as driving schools[/url] just so people can get their dime-store certificate and reduce their insurance premiums and you have a system all nicely set up to put dangerous idiots on our roads.
Perhaps if we had a proper system of ensuring the people who get licenses can actually drive, we could increase our speed limits and reduce the number of injuries on the roads to something akin of what's found in Europe.
Incidentally, just last night I watched someone drive a few km's of dark, rainy road with their lights off and then proceeded to get stuck behind someone who wouldn't go over 30. Unbelievable!
Gah! Don't even get me started on the headlight or minimum speed issues. Oh shoot, too late…
It drives me mental when people don't put their freakin' lights on. If you can't see your dash unless you're under a streetlight, you need your headlights on. If the streetlights are on, you need your headlights on (I thought they switched all of them to photo-sensitive from timed a few years back, although I may be mistaken). If you drive a silver or other similarly light-coloured car and it's a freakin' foggy day you damn well better have your lights on. Running lights are wonderful… for the people who are AHEAD of you. They don't do a thing to stop people from running into the back of you because they can't see you and the brake lights that you can't see because they're on the back of your car aren't working (I was driving behind a guy yesterday who had no tail-lights… at all).
And driving too slow? You know, it's amazing the number of people who don't realize that they can actually get ticketed for hazardous driving for driving too slow. Personally, I think that 20 km/hr is too much leeway anyway, but if they're doing 30 in a 60 zone (especially one where, say, the average speed is something like 73) then they're well and truly in ticketing range. They're interfering with the flow of traffic and increasing frustrations for other drivers… which tends to lead to road rage and other idiot reactions…. which in turn lead to accidents, injuries and occaisionally death.
All of that said… I have to question your comment implying that injuries on the roads are significantly lower in Europe. The last time I was in Ireland there were an awful lot of "Black Spots" on the roads… a Black Spot rating, by my understanding, indicates significant injury or death in traffic rlated events at that location. But, I've also only been to Ireland and England over there… I don't know about the mainland. *shrug*