I was recently reading about the new Clio Sport that costs about £20k and go 155mph and 0-60 in about 6 seconds. Also the new Golf quickie as well. It got me thinking that these cars are targeted at those that probably cannot drive them properly or rather do not have the necessary experience.
Shouldn't we instigate a system along the lines of only being allowed to drive certain insurance rated cars (by group) for the number of years that a licence has been held. For example, for the first year that you hold a licence you should not be allowed to drive a car higher than say group 7 or 8, and then increase this by 1 "group" per year. Hopefully this might be able to prevent irresponsible drivers being able to get cars that are capable of such excessive speeds.
I heard of a 17yo who got a Ferrari for his birthday!
Is this too Big Brother and too impractical?
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You mean you don't have enough freedom-removing traffic laws over there already?......
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I'm with Mr G - I see the sense, but too big brother.
Following the same theory, it'd outlaw lovely motorcycles until pension age :)
-David
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This should be way down the priority list.
Horrendous violent crimes, drugs, shootings, sword fights, gang rapes etc.. are mushrooming out of control and all this government seems to do is pick on the ordinary decent person trying to get to work and back.
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I have some friends who have some very very high powered cars - a 470bhp Mazda RX7, a 320bhp Nissan Sunny GTI-R to name a couple, and they have been driving 10 years. Now, their driving abilities are very good indeed and they can handle their cars. I would trust them more at 28 with an ultra quick car than a 50 year old who has driven a low powered vehicle all his life, who then wins the lottery and buys a lamborghini. Experience of license is invaluable, but experience of speed is, i would say, more valuable.
Good idea for under 21's or people with less than 5 years experience.
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An eighteen year old who's just passed their test is more than capable of causing death and carnage in an old 1 litre Fiesta Popular - AFAIK there's no evidence to suggest that people driving performance cars have more or deadlier accidents than those driving "normal" cars.
Moreover, even the most mundane of modern cars is usually capable of reaching 100mph and accelerating at a decent rate of knots - in fact, come to think of it, some of the craziest driving I've seen is people pushing an average car well beyond what it's realistically capable of.
Ultimately there are always going to be people who'll drive like idiots, whatever vehicle they're in.
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Can't see it having much of an effect, since insurance premiums automatically perform what you propose for all but the mega rich. Also, like the Captain says, i was able to cause more than enough havoc quite easily in a 1 litre metro, so can't see that it would affect the accident statistics.
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This should be way down the priority list. Horrendous violent crimes, drugs, shootings, sword fights, gang rapes etc.. are mushrooming out of control and all this government seems to do is pick on the ordinary decent person trying to get to work and back.
Hear hear ............
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I see your points, and suppose that a performance car has a lot better braking capability from 100mph than a Fiesta doing the same speed and therefore is safer in some respects
I personally also think that cars like the Bugatti Veyron with 1001 bhp have no place on the road but having said that the price will not mean that many find their way on to the road
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I personally also think that cars like the Bugatti Veyron with 1001 bhp have no place on the road but having said that the price will not mean that many find their way on to the road
It may not be sensible on the road, but I think the world is a far better place with it in. I will never own, nor drive one but if you love cars, you've just gotta love power.
imagine if we all drove round in Toyota Prius or Honda Insight - You'd die of boredom....
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Each of us has the capability to hurt or damage others in many different ways (including the mis-use of motor vehicles). Legislation is rarely the answer.
The first car I drove after passing my test was a 150 bhp Primera GT. For Mrsb it was a 130bhp Avensis. What prevented us having accidents in these cars was primarily temprement and attitude (I certainly wouldn't say either of us was particularly skillful.) Converesely, if someone is a muppet, they'll drive like a muppet whether they drive a 1.2 Nova or a Testarossa.
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What prevented us having accidents in these cars was primarily temprement and attitude.
Precisely.
The least powerful cars are quite capable of killing people in reckless hands, and recklessness is all about attitude.
GJD
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I see your points, and suppose that a performance car has a lot better braking capability from 100mph than a Fiesta doing the same speed and therefore is safer in some respects I personally also think that cars like the Bugatti Veyron with 1001 bhp have no place on the road but having said that the price will not mean that many find their way on to the road
I think personally that we should be thankful that manufacturers are prepared to still produce cars like the Veryon (and the Enzo, 360 Modena and any supercar you like to mention). It seems to me that
This world is a dull grey place most of the time and we should ge grateful for any splashes of colour that are provided ....
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there is no doubt that bad drivers come in all ages, shapes and sizes and it is down to attitude more than anything else. However, I do see some logic in restricting engine size/ power for those learning or newly qualified to drive. It's what already happens with motorbikes to an extent isn't it ? How you'd make it work in practice I've no idea though.
Doing this wouldn't prevent all accidents however, my youngest brother (and ex 911 owner) who was by no means a learner at the time, managed to crash a new Ferrari simply but putting his foot down a bit too hard when 'trying it out' on a dual carriageway nearby. Fortunately only the car and his wallet suffered.
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I can see the argument for the restriction you describe volvoman, but I don't think asking "how many years have you held a licence" is quite the right question.
I'm not sure whether the analogy is really valid, but I got a private pilot's licence earlier this year. If I want to fly aircraft with some difference in handling (eg tailwheel instead of nosewheel, retractable undercarriage or variable pitch prop) I have to do differences training. But the test is not so much how many flying hours I have, but whether I've been shown how to handle it by someone who knows what they're doing.
As you say, making it work in practice wouldn't be easy. You'd have to have additional categories on your licence for more than a certain hp, or auto if you learnt on a manual. It could probably be done. The system is in place for anyone who learnt on an automatic. And don't you need additional training these days to tow a trailer above a certain size?
Whether there's any political capital in it is a different matter. And I'm still not sure it would solve a significant problem.
GJD
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Is there any need to create yet another restriction on the UK motorist for no other apparant reason (it would seem) than "it must be a contributor to safety"?
Can anyone who would agree to this additional restriction be sure that it is the driver of the higher power car that is responsible for the majority of accidents?
I am convinced that no reduction in casualties would result from such an imposition.
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To a certain extent, this already exists.
Although I passed my test at 17, I could not drive a vehicle seating more than 8 people, ie a minibus, until I was 21.
When I was 19, a 25 year old teacher at my 6th form college, who had just passed his test was immediately able to drive one of these packed with 16 to 19 year olds.
So tell me, who is the more accomplished driver on average, someone with 2 years experience after passing his test or an older person with 2 weeks experience?
Legislation to reduce power to younger or less experienced drivers may work, but I would prefer to spend the resources on road safety education for 16 year olds (girls and boys), who are just itching to get behind the wheel.
Hugo
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A Renault Clio that does 155mph. You wouldn't want to be in the passenger seat would you. I wonder if the rattles and tinny buzzing sounds are proportionate to the speed?
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Well James - to an extent the issue is academic since most inexperienced and or learner drivers probably wouldn't be able to get insurance on such hig powered cars. There would still be the few who could though and I seem to recall a tragedy in which a young, newly qualified lad was given a high powered sports car by his wealthy father and proceeded to kill several people in it. Whether in reality, retricting those with say less than 2 years driving experience to a car of limited engine size/power output would reduce accidents overall who can say? Do you think however that the change in regulations regarding motorbikes has had no such effect ? When I was at school you could ride quite a high powered 250cc machine with L plates and no training whatsover. I had a 4 stroke Honda CB 250 but the Yamaha RD 250 (??) was the favourite amongst boy racers and many were killed/injured during those times. I feel the new system is far more responsible and if I were to buy another bike I'd be more than happy to learn and progress on smaller bikes before moving onto the larger machines. Is there a good reason why cars should be treated any differently ?
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Although it is not as clear cut as that - providing you are over 21, you can do a motorcycle direct access course. Lessons and test are exactly the same, except they are done on a machine over a certain power ouput (45bhp?). Last year a mate of mine decided he wanted to learn to ride a bike, having never ridden one before in his life. By doing an intensive course, he went from wanting to learn to ride on the sunday to purchasing and riding a CBR600 the saturday after.
Luckily he was fairly sensible and didn't have an accident, i'm just pointing out that the motorcycle system certainly isn't flawless.
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The lad you quote in a high power car is notable because it was newsworthy due to it being unusual. There are plenty more people killed by bad driving by young people in fiestas/unos/saxos etc. Its just that they are less newsworthy and so not as easy to quote specifics.
I think that we need to improve driver training, specifically motorway driving before prioritising a restrictive law.
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