Minimum age to drive a Supercar??

[SpidermanUK]

Following on from the thread concerning the tragic news of yet another death on our roads,this time a 21 year old driver of a Lamborghini,it's been suggested that " no 21 year old should be behind the wheel of such a car"

Do sweeping generalisations like this have any relevance? We currently don't have any background information concerning the driver's experience to support such a contention. Similarly we don't even know who, if anyone, was at fault! Would the make of vehicle be relevant if it was subsequently discovered that the Lamborghini was stationary and was ploughed into by the oncoming vehicle that was on the wrong side of the road?

I'm simply trying to make the point that these type of knee-jerk reactions are what fuelled the handgun ban and the unacceptable rise in the number of speed cameras, no facts, but because it was a "fast car", it must have been the Lamborghini driver's "lack of experience" that caused the accident!

Incidentally, if one considers that " no 21 year old should be behind the wheel of such a car",a 500-640bhp Lamborghini, surely you wouldn't consider it safe to let someone just a year older behind the wheel of a 1000bhp F1 car.......which would have robbed us of Michael Schumacher's debut at Spa in 1991, aged 22!

[m.lovell]

If she had borrowed the car from me my conscience would not be clear. I also think your average 21 year old girl is way more mature than your average 21 year old boy and your average 21 year old boy in a 500 HP car I think is a recipe for disaster.
cant really see there is a need for new legislation, at 21 your old enough to get married,vote and get killed in Iraq.....
I guess if my Son or Daughter got mowed down by a 21 year old in a Enzo my opinion would change .
marc

[dealmaker]

I bought (using my own hard earned funds) my first "supercar" in 1989 - a Porsche Carrera SSC when I was 21. Looking back I was perfcectly safe and didn't pose any risk to myself or other road users - and that was, by todays standards, an EVIL handling car - I think my years of karting and motorcycling helped to develop the skills to drive the car.

Undoubtedly cars are getting faster yet safer on the limit - the trouble with this is that when they do let go it tends to be in a big way - is it right to allow someone with adequate experience, skill and training loose in a Supercar - IRRESPECTIVE of their age - I'd say yes. Should inexperienced drivers with little skill/exposure to high power cars be let loose - the answer is NO - irrespective of age.

So in a nutshell - skill, experience, training, and wheel time are the important things - NOT age! ...After all - the RAF are quite happy to let 21 year olds fly Fighter planes in low-level and combat scenarios.

[haze]

I always thought you had to be 25, not sure where I heard that from though.

[David A]

Your average city box saxo, corsa, mini, escort, fiesta, polo etc etc can all pretty much do a ton plus and can be put in front of a HGV in the wrong direction at 10mph as well. Interestingly a "supercar" will probably have better brakes and handling than these so one "could" argue it would be safer in many situation e.g. steer out of trouble, emergency braking etc.

Driver maturity and understanding of the decisions they make on the road is what its all about. Theres plenty of old folks and middle aged folks who can quite easily total either an F40 or Fiesta 1.1. due to bad decisions / stupidity.


Age limit no, IQ/sense check - yes

Dave

[amdb7]

In answer to topic question my answer is 17, on the basis that if your going to be a tt driving a Lambo/Ferrari etc you are going to be just as dangerous in a Fiesta.

Lamobos and Ferrari's and similar are not that hard to drive at all, not even for someone new to them. I got used to a 355 (not my own, i'll never be rich enough) within 5 minutes of being let loose in it.

I don't see the difference in how dangerous it is crashing at 100mph in a Fiesta or 150mph in a Lambo, both are very quick deadly speeds, the way i se it if you crash (badly) at anything past 70/80 your pretty much dead anyway.

[ferrari355gtb]

amdb7 said:

I got used to a 355 (not my own, i'll never be rich enough) within 5 minutes of being let loose in it.

No one can use to a 355 (or any other supercar) in 5 minutes. And that's the inherent problem - a lot of people think they are 'use' to a car but it takes a long time and the 355 especially can bite (no traction control) to save you.

Is there a similar arguement that you should hang up your driving shoes when you are 60 (ish) - as your reactions become a lot slower then.

[0to60]

im 22 years old, and drive a mk2 Tuscan S convertible (i know it is not as good as your fezzas and lambos) but its still rapid, but it depends on the driver, i dotn drive silly, whereas i have seen on here videos of some guy in a black murcielago driving like a right tt, i think its all about the individual, not age

[steve f]

everybody thinks they can drive but 95% of everybody is wrong

[splodge s4]

When i was 17 i was driving around with 1,200bhp under my right foot.

But it was a Challenger main battle tank & weighed 70 tonnes. Saying that though I still managed to lose it once on a corner through going to fast & it tipped up on its side so maybe I was to young!

[Mr_C]

I was 21 when I had my Elise. I know it's not a 500bhp + supercar but they've still got a reputation for catching out the unwary (mid engined, RWD and short wheelbase..). I spent a lot of time getting used to the car (my 1st RWD car) before I was confident enough in my abilities to catch a slide with it to actually press on a bit.

Now I want something a bit more powerful...

[crikeymikey]

steve f said:

everybody thinks they can drive but 95% of everybody is wrong

I agree. And I'll include myself in that 95%.

Anyone who's done any racing will know, after a few decent results, you always fancy yourself guilty as charged), but you only need to watch a National or International Champion to realise you're crap really. We all kid ourselves.

Example. I remember seeing Aaron Slight at Donington, prior to a World Superbike race. I'd just been out in a practice session and we all came in for a break. Slighty was recovering from brain surgery only 8 weeks previously and had to demonstrate to the FIM officials that he was fit to race. Standing on the pit wall, watching him peel into Redgate (still hard on the brakes) and then seeing how soon and aggressive he was on the throttle on the exit was incredible to witness. I nearly gave up there and then!

My point is, we all like to think we know what we're doing. It stops us from admitting we've still got a lot to learn. A 21 year old can easily be capable of handling a supercar, if the experience and maturity are there.

So, no 21 is not too young IMO.

[clubsport]

No point in generalisation,,,
Jonathan cocker, youngest ever British GT championship winner at aged 18,,,he was driving Porsche carrera cup a year earlier.

Agreed until you see or are on track with REAL race drivers, it certainly brings home your own inadequacy behind the wheel.

[k321]

i am young and i used to drive a boxster S, i also have driven subaru impreza with 350bhp ..and in general i am driving cars that not many young people can afford. i am concentrating all the time when i am driving whereas i see older people on the motorway ..women doing their makeup..and old men almost sleeping behind the wheel. when i have gone to petrol stations frequently i get older people staring at me, maybe jealousy. or thinking i am a car thief, and also i have been stopped by the police 7 times in 2 years, and three times the police have said that i should be careful as the car is too powerful for me! there are however a lot of 17 yr olds in chavved up cars who drive like tw**S...

i think tom hartleys son was learning to drive in a ferrari f50, but had to take his test in a 360 as you cant take the test in a lhd car.. the age is just a number, its about experience..maturity..concentration.

Edited by k321 on Tuesday 7th November 18:53

[andy355]

i would favour some kind of additional driver training being needed on certain categories of cars prior to insurance being issued. if it was compulsory say to do an advance driving test then i dont think too many people would object. better still would be some track/skid stuff.

at the end of the day you would learn something, hopefully have some fun, maybe see a reduction in insurance premiums and maybe the roads would be safer as a result.

[tomtom]

Mr_C said:

I was 21 when I had my Elise. I know it's not a 500bhp + supercar but they've still got a reputation for catching out the unwary (mid engined, RWD and short wheelbase..). I spent a lot of time getting used to the car (my 1st RWD car) before I was confident enough in my abilities to catch a slide with it to actually press on a bit.

Now I want something a bit more powerful...

Ditto. It's not a 'supercar' and there's not enough power to really get yourself in to trouble but as you say, it will catch you out if you're silly with it.

[Mr_C]

tomtom said:

Ditto. It's not a 'supercar' and there's not enough power to really get yourself in to trouble but as you say, it will catch you out if you're silly with it.

Nie car

[graeme73s]

It is difficult to argue that age does not come into play as one would hope that with age comes common sense but this is not always the case. I'm 45 and at 18 I owned a Mk1 3 litre Capri.(do not laugh). I'd go out in the snow just to learn how to control the thing and I live to tell the tale despite the number of very near missus and undamaged bodywork. The difference I suppose by todays standards is that the cars were not as fast back then although a 3 litre Capri and a Dolomite Sprint were pretty much the fastest things on the block. 7 second 0 to 60's and 125 mph flat out. But no ABS,traction control, crap tyres, no air bags etc.etc. I guess it helped to hone your skills at much more sensible speeds. Today the cars have far more grip and lots of electronic wizardry to help sort it all out but when it all goes Pete Tong only the nut behind the wheel can sort it all out.
I would race anything at the drop of a hat and would refuse to be beaten. The only thing I would refuse to do was to drive on the pavement to win the race (I kid you not) and have had several experiences back then of instances of idiots that I knew that would resort to such a thing to try and win the race. I had no intention of killing some innocent pedestrian. Thats the problem nowadays. Cars are far more capable than they used to be and therefore to get that buzz you need to be travelling much faster especially in a supercar. The reality nowadays is how much restraint you have and not how old you are. Would I have survived back then if had had been driving a supercar. Of course I would. (the reality is that I would not want to have placed a bet on it)

[v8 racing]

What makes me laugh about all this is the fact that when you are in either a so called super car or a shopping car, if the car is stationery what differnece does it make? age speed and the car that chaz was in is absolutely irelovent in this case.

[Seany88]

I think many are missing the point here, yes there can be plenty of very talented young racing drivers out there, but that does not necessarily mean they are experienced on the road i.e. in terms of other road users. It probably helps, but ultimately road experience is no substitute IMO.