RE: Drivers of Powerful Cars To Face 'Special Tests'
Thursday 16th August 2007
What will happen to your car if you don't take up driver training. Possibly...If you drive a high performance car you should take a test to make sure you’re capable of handling it.
Drivers of Powerful Cars To Face 'Special Tests'
More driver training is needed, says Institute of Advanced Motorists
What will happen to your car if you don't take up driver training. Possibly...
At least that’s what one road safety group thinks.
The Institue of Advanced Motorists suggests that many crashes involving supercars could be prevented if drivers took a special, compulsory test beforehand.
Kevin Delaney, head of road safety at the IAM Motoring Trust, says that the licence should be linked to the power-to-weight ratio of a car. “We have a basic form of graduated licences for motorbikes – there should be one for cars too,” he said.
He added that the training would concentrate on handling and the ‘psychological difficulties’ of experiencing an adrenaline rush when driving a powerful car. "The difference between a Mondeo and a Porsche is in the right foot."
"Drivers who buy and drive cars that are fast enough to get them into trouble need to gain the experience to avoid getting into trouble accidentally and to use the car safely on the road."
The UK road safety charity Brake and the mayor of London’s road safety ambassador, Jenny Jones, have also supported the idea.
"These are ridiculous cars for wannabe jet pilots rather than people who need to get safely from A to B. Some who buy these vehicles are clearly in need of either an advanced driving course or therapy," said Ms Jones.
However, the RAC Foundation says taking the extra test should be a matter of choice.
Sheila Rainger, a spokeswoman, said: “This should be something motorists choose to do themselves out of pride in their skills, not a burden imposed upon them by legislation.”
“This is best dealt with through education, training and advice, not new legislation.”
Source: The Scotsman
Discussion
I couldn't agree more.
I don't think it should be a Pass/Fail sort of test, but a compulsory advanced driving course for high performance car drivers is an excellent idea. Should bring insurance premiums down as well!
Too many Muppets out there who think money can buy driving talent and a prancing horse or charging bull on your bonnet turns you into a race car driver.
Quite frankly anybody out there who dis-agrees with me is proving my point. (this is a joke, im not really that arrogant) Even the best drivers in the world can benefit from putting themselves in a "safe mindset" for a day. People who are arrogant enough to say they don't need it - are usually the people who end up wedged in Armco.
I don't think it should be a Pass/Fail sort of test, but a compulsory advanced driving course for high performance car drivers is an excellent idea. Should bring insurance premiums down as well!
Too many Muppets out there who think money can buy driving talent and a prancing horse or charging bull on your bonnet turns you into a race car driver.
Quite frankly anybody out there who dis-agrees with me is proving my point. (this is a joke, im not really that arrogant) Even the best drivers in the world can benefit from putting themselves in a "safe mindset" for a day. People who are arrogant enough to say they don't need it - are usually the people who end up wedged in Armco.
I agree a little bit, I think it should be incorperated in some way with the driving test. I've seen people who although they pass they still cant drive properly or keep there 1.1 Saxo on the road.
At the point of test they should either be granted a full or part licence, letting the driver either use a full range of sengine sizes or only up to a certain size.
Not sure if that will work though, But i do think they should make old people retake there tests or have to do a refreshment course.
At the point of test they should either be granted a full or part licence, letting the driver either use a full range of sengine sizes or only up to a certain size.
Not sure if that will work though, But i do think they should make old people retake there tests or have to do a refreshment course.
quite a few companies (Subaru, Mercedes Benz, Porsche) already offer these don't they?
i'm not sure it should depend on the power of the car, any rear wheel drive car can get you into serious trouble (my Spitfire only had 70odd BHP and you could kick the back out at will in the wet) and having seeing how some people drive on snow I think everyone could do with some sort of skid pan type training. You can have passed your test with no experience of trying to stop a car from 50mph in the wet or driving on ice etc.
i'm not sure it should depend on the power of the car, any rear wheel drive car can get you into serious trouble (my Spitfire only had 70odd BHP and you could kick the back out at will in the wet) and having seeing how some people drive on snow I think everyone could do with some sort of skid pan type training. You can have passed your test with no experience of trying to stop a car from 50mph in the wet or driving on ice etc.
Edited by varsas on Thursday 16th August 10:06
Edited by varsas on Thursday 16th August 10:07
Absolutely, but take it further. The basic level of driving ability is not high enough especially observation (IMO quite fundamental) What about all drivers doing a roadcraft course (or even a bike CBT!?) between 2-3 after passing the 'basic' test?
Make it insurance recognised/approved to give people an incentive and even to allow people to progress up the driving ladder? dare I say, access to certain vehicles??!!
I think this could be a way to reduce accidents, but I'm sure it won't happen 'cos it means the powers that be doing something rather than making money through cameras.
Make it insurance recognised/approved to give people an incentive and even to allow people to progress up the driving ladder? dare I say, access to certain vehicles??!!
I think this could be a way to reduce accidents, but I'm sure it won't happen 'cos it means the powers that be doing something rather than making money through cameras.
thegman said:
this is stupid. the vast majority of accidents are not caused by supercar drivers. how about we make sure everybody on the road actually has a licence before we start persecuting drivers of high performance vehicles.
Ehm, looking at the staggering proportion of single vehicle accidents involving just a few makes of powerful low-volume sports cars as evidenced here, I think the point has been succinctly proven. And if having a graded licence system discourages some of the posers who are merely looking to impress the laydeez to get into Tuscans and 996GT2s, so much the better - saves the rest of us to be tarred with the same brush.That said, Ms. Jenny Jones has a
ing huge chip on her shoulder, but then again she directly reports to Red Ken so no surprise there... Not that it makes me any less livid to be (indirectly) addressed in such a disrespectful and patronising way - I suggest she try using similar words to address certain other factions in society and sees how she likes the reaction..."These are ridiculous cars for wannabe jet pilots rather than people who need to get safely from A to B. Some who buy these vehicles are clearly in need of either an advanced driving course or therapy," said Ms Jones
What a ridiculous statement !
So all drivers of powerful cars need therapy because they bought them to have fun in and not just for the practicalities of getting from A-B
I think its a good idea to have people go on an advanced drivers course to learn how to handle a powerful car. I also think that we should make people have motorway lessons after they have passed their test.
I suspect Ms Jones is one of those numpty drivers on the motorway that puts peoples life in danger whilst thinking she is uber safe because she's doing 65 in the middle lane.
And yes I was a wannabe jet fighter pilot and yes the TVR is a way for me to get the adranaline rush I miss out on from not been a jet pilot. Whats wrong with that?
What a ridiculous statement !
So all drivers of powerful cars need therapy because they bought them to have fun in and not just for the practicalities of getting from A-B
I think its a good idea to have people go on an advanced drivers course to learn how to handle a powerful car. I also think that we should make people have motorway lessons after they have passed their test.
I suspect Ms Jones is one of those numpty drivers on the motorway that puts peoples life in danger whilst thinking she is uber safe because she's doing 65 in the middle lane.
And yes I was a wannabe jet fighter pilot and yes the TVR is a way for me to get the adranaline rush I miss out on from not been a jet pilot. Whats wrong with that?
PetrolTed said:
By the time most people can afford supercars, they've got sufficient maturity and experience to handle them.
The fact remains that young drivers are the worst risk on the roads.
Granted, but surely over the past years you must have raised an eyebrow concerning the sheer number of reported TVR crashes in proportion to the number of TVRs on the road and mileage covered, and another at the amount of people who come on here after having fallen off the road, completely clueless about the factors that may have contributed to having the accident ('I was only gently accelerating etc. etc.')...The fact remains that young drivers are the worst risk on the roads.
Edited by 900T-R on Thursday 16th August 10:21
so will this 'test' reduce insurance premiums as we have proven that we can handle the power capabilities of these machines and will be safer drivers? Didn't think so for one minute so whats the point? Who decides what power to weight ratio is deemed as requiring the extra test? My little roadster has power to weight of about 140bhp/tonne, is that too much?
that article actually started to sound quite rational until that Jenny Jones woman quote was inserted- why do people see the need to take such a rediculous stance on things?
Sure, the quality of a person's driving doesnt neccesarily increase proportionally with their wallet size, but you cant put all drivers of powerful cars in the same bracket (i.e that they are wannabe jet pilots who cant drive).
Id be interested to see some statistics of accident rates, proportional of course, as to the number of incidents involving "supercars" compared to joe bloggs driving his clapped out mondeo.
I thoroughly believe that those who have no interest in driving and see it purely as a means of getting from a to b can be as dangerous as a petrolhead on a spirited drive. I mean, how many times would you say an accident has been caused by someone daydreaming whilst driving round town paying no attention to whats happening around them?!
Sure, maybe thats not directly linked to the point in question, but an accident is an accident all the same.
Maybe the government should give a trackday grant to the general public- that would help (ludicrous? yes. hint of saircasm...most definitely!)
Sure, the quality of a person's driving doesnt neccesarily increase proportionally with their wallet size, but you cant put all drivers of powerful cars in the same bracket (i.e that they are wannabe jet pilots who cant drive).
Id be interested to see some statistics of accident rates, proportional of course, as to the number of incidents involving "supercars" compared to joe bloggs driving his clapped out mondeo.
I thoroughly believe that those who have no interest in driving and see it purely as a means of getting from a to b can be as dangerous as a petrolhead on a spirited drive. I mean, how many times would you say an accident has been caused by someone daydreaming whilst driving round town paying no attention to whats happening around them?!
Sure, maybe thats not directly linked to the point in question, but an accident is an accident all the same.
Maybe the government should give a trackday grant to the general public- that would help (ludicrous? yes. hint of saircasm...most definitely!)
- edited to say- looks like you and me are on the same wavelength geo28!
Edited by red_zed on Thursday 16th August 10:23
perhaps the 'money' they get from speed cameras could be used for this. I have seen some pretty nice police cars on the road, so I am sure a few thou spent on some high performance cars could be put aside to stop all us 'nutters' in cars driving like a**-holes.
as a post said, most of us with high performance cars have been driving for a few years, saying that, some little muppet still drives 70mph down my road (30mph) every other in his 'pimped' saxo, so drawing the line is pretty hard.
think someone on the motoway thread said, more enforcment should be made on speeding in built up areas, and more speed should be allowed on main roads. 70mph on the motoway is just not fast enough, plus cars are much more advanced these days, 90 or 100 would fine in my view, and to be honest most people do now!!
as a post said, most of us with high performance cars have been driving for a few years, saying that, some little muppet still drives 70mph down my road (30mph) every other in his 'pimped' saxo, so drawing the line is pretty hard.
think someone on the motoway thread said, more enforcment should be made on speeding in built up areas, and more speed should be allowed on main roads. 70mph on the motoway is just not fast enough, plus cars are much more advanced these days, 90 or 100 would fine in my view, and to be honest most people do now!!
I agree with some bits as i'm sure many drivers own cars that exceed their abilities but this statement:
"The difference between a Mondeo and a Porsche is in the right foot."
Is a bit too simplistic for my liking and a bit narrow in its point of view. The difference is the handling characteristics, not to mention the Porsche has its engine behind the rear axle and the mondeo over the front axle.
"The difference between a Mondeo and a Porsche is in the right foot."
Is a bit too simplistic for my liking and a bit narrow in its point of view. The difference is the handling characteristics, not to mention the Porsche has its engine behind the rear axle and the mondeo over the front axle.
Edited by g4ry13 on Thursday 16th August 10:27
point about speeding in built up areas is a good one- i know and see people do double the limit in some 30 and 40 zones. Something I would categorically never do. Motorway limits are antiquated. end of. sure, reaction times are still the same but its proven on a daily basis that raising the limit wouldnt be detrimental to motorway safety (i commute to work at 7 in the morn and the steady, safe flow of traffic is evident because conditions allow it)
the realism is that the general spread of idiots on the road is more broad than simply targeting drivers of faster cars. I see the idea behind tackling it bit by bit, but there needs to be some freedom given to motorists before they will listen
the realism is that the general spread of idiots on the road is more broad than simply targeting drivers of faster cars. I see the idea behind tackling it bit by bit, but there needs to be some freedom given to motorists before they will listen
Ain't going to happen....for example how do you define a "supercar"?
If you are a 17 year old in a 1.0L Ford Fiesta or a 45 year old ex-racing driver in a Bugatti Veyron which is more likely to be an experienced driver and which is more like to have an accident?
It was obviously a slow day at "The Scotsman" no news to report so lets publish some ill-conceived bullshit........
If you are a 17 year old in a 1.0L Ford Fiesta or a 45 year old ex-racing driver in a Bugatti Veyron which is more likely to be an experienced driver and which is more like to have an accident?
It was obviously a slow day at "The Scotsman" no news to report so lets publish some ill-conceived bullshit........
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