How much does having a safe car bother you?
Discussion
In these days of multiple airbags, pre-tensioners and similar I find myself getting a little nervous if I'm in something older. Clearly it doesn't stop me driving the classics but it is in the back of my mind.
My IROC only has rear lap belts and I'm thinking that I should not let my kids travel back there really.
Any thoughts on this?
My IROC only has rear lap belts and I'm thinking that I should not let my kids travel back there really.
Any thoughts on this?
kambites said:
I hate the modern obsession with safety, it has almost single handedly ruined modern cars, IMO.
So to answer your question, I'd far rather be driving an old car with no airbags, etc.
This.So to answer your question, I'd far rather be driving an old car with no airbags, etc.
I drive a ford capri, which I dont suppose offers much more safety than a baked bean tin. Dont care in the slightest.
Lack of safety nonsense (among other things) means that its very light.
the obsession with safety has gone too far.
edit to add, simple olders cars, less to go wrong, airbags, abs (not saying that ABS is a bad thing though) traction control, etc etc
Edited by OllieC on Friday 7th January 10:07
ukzz4iroc said:
In these days of multiple airbags, pre-tensioners and similar I find myself getting a little nervous if I'm in something older. Clearly it doesn't stop me driving the classics but it is in the back of my mind.
My IROC only has rear lap belts and I'm thinking that I should not let my kids travel back there really.
Any thoughts on this?
I think a 3 point seatbelt is pretty important. Whats an IROC?My IROC only has rear lap belts and I'm thinking that I should not let my kids travel back there really.
Any thoughts on this?
Very little.
I've gone from a Caterham with no side impact protection or crumple zones to a TVR where the seat belt doesn't tension properly. To be honest I just drive on the principle of 'don't crash'.
That said, I do value ABS on my daily driver and if I used a very powerful twitchy RWD car in all weathers I wouldn't say no to switchable traction control. I still wouldn't be that fussed about crash protection though. It's good if it has it - and it would be a bonus if it didn't impact anything else - but it's just about the last thing on my priorities list.
I've gone from a Caterham with no side impact protection or crumple zones to a TVR where the seat belt doesn't tension properly. To be honest I just drive on the principle of 'don't crash'.
That said, I do value ABS on my daily driver and if I used a very powerful twitchy RWD car in all weathers I wouldn't say no to switchable traction control. I still wouldn't be that fussed about crash protection though. It's good if it has it - and it would be a bonus if it didn't impact anything else - but it's just about the last thing on my priorities list.
The average car has an insurance claim every 50k miles, meaning that the car I share with my girlfriend is going to be hit or nicked every 4 years. Most of these will of course be minor accidents, however the odd biggy will be in there.
Last month GF was hit on a roundabout by an off roader (ironically the day after I was on here saying I'd never buy an off roader because of safety) that came onto the roundabout without slowing or spotting GF. Left hand side took a big hit and the car was written off. Being a decent, modern car it held up perfectly and the end result is one less Vauxhall Astra in the world. Hardly a big issue.
Had she been in something older, an 80s Peugeot 309 for example, she'd not have been killed but probably hurt.
The short term replacement I bought was a 2005 Renault Megane. Dull, doesn't handle, not particularly well made but a superb place to be in an accident. Internet bravado aside, that's really important.
Last month GF was hit on a roundabout by an off roader (ironically the day after I was on here saying I'd never buy an off roader because of safety) that came onto the roundabout without slowing or spotting GF. Left hand side took a big hit and the car was written off. Being a decent, modern car it held up perfectly and the end result is one less Vauxhall Astra in the world. Hardly a big issue.
Had she been in something older, an 80s Peugeot 309 for example, she'd not have been killed but probably hurt.
The short term replacement I bought was a 2005 Renault Megane. Dull, doesn't handle, not particularly well made but a superb place to be in an accident. Internet bravado aside, that's really important.
kambites said:
The single biggest safety feature that I value, is A-pillars that aren't so fat that they obscure your vision. Sadly, almost no modern cars seem to have this feature.
I was going to say the exact same thing. At T-junctions I can lose a complete car behind my wife's Puma's A-pillar 
As far as I am concerned it's all about active safety rather than passive safety - ie avoiding the accident in the first place. Having said that, my Saab 900 was a bloody safe place to be 20+ years ago and it still is although nothing on modern regs.
Chris71 said:
To be honest I just drive on the principle of 'don't crash'.
Agreed. When hooning / on track days in my mk1 MX5, I know that if I come unstuck and have an impact the thing is likely to fold up around me like tin foil. Have to admit though, for a daily driver doing 30,000 miles a year I like a bit of metal around me. On a wet dark M25 full of foreign truckers, at least the 5 series gives me a feeling that I'd have half a chance of walking away.
There's a certain roll off point in safety.
50's/60's cars with bench seats, lap belts (if any), separate chassis and sharp pointy things in the dash are bad, and I would certainly not want to be involved in a crash in one.
But once you have 3 point seatbelts and a passenger cell that was designed with some notion of it not cutting the drivers legs off in an accident, you're in the hands of the gods during a crash anyway. I don't let it bother me. My last car had no ABS, was mid engined and had all the integrity of a fag packet. Huge fun to drive, predictable, communicative, and never once had a 'moment' in it. I felt perfectly safe in it.
I find the best safety device is to be a careful driver, aware of their own limitations and skills. Luckily, not had an accident in 14 years of driving now.
This could of course change if I have kids. It's one thing to judge the risk for yourself, but throw the most important person in the world into the equation and I'm sure I'll be browsing the NCAP ratings in Which? like everyone else. The 328 estate feels solid enough anyhow.
50's/60's cars with bench seats, lap belts (if any), separate chassis and sharp pointy things in the dash are bad, and I would certainly not want to be involved in a crash in one.
But once you have 3 point seatbelts and a passenger cell that was designed with some notion of it not cutting the drivers legs off in an accident, you're in the hands of the gods during a crash anyway. I don't let it bother me. My last car had no ABS, was mid engined and had all the integrity of a fag packet. Huge fun to drive, predictable, communicative, and never once had a 'moment' in it. I felt perfectly safe in it.
I find the best safety device is to be a careful driver, aware of their own limitations and skills. Luckily, not had an accident in 14 years of driving now.
This could of course change if I have kids. It's one thing to judge the risk for yourself, but throw the most important person in the world into the equation and I'm sure I'll be browsing the NCAP ratings in Which? like everyone else. The 328 estate feels solid enough anyhow.
Edited by WeirdNeville on Friday 7th January 10:37
CampDavid said:
The average car has an insurance claim every 50k miles, meaning that the car I share with my girlfriend is going to be hit or nicked every 4 years. Most of these will of course be minor accidents, however the odd biggy will be in there.
Last month GF was hit on a roundabout by an off roader (ironically the day after I was on here saying I'd never buy an off roader because of safety) that came onto the roundabout without slowing or spotting GF. Left hand side took a big hit and the car was written off. Being a decent, modern car it held up perfectly and the end result is one less Vauxhall Astra in the world. Hardly a big issue.
Had she been in something older, an 80s Peugeot 309 for example, she'd not have been killed but probably hurt.
The short term replacement I bought was a 2005 Renault Megane. Dull, doesn't handle, not particularly well made but a superb place to be in an accident. Internet bravado aside, that's really important.
You make a valid point based on your risk assessment. You are concerned about a crash and purchase accordingly. However, everyone has a different level of or attitude to risk. I regularly have friends who say they would never buy a motorbike because they are 'too dangerous', well there are millions or motorbike riders around and although some have crashes they aren't all dead and therefore I will continue to ride mine whenever and however I want.Last month GF was hit on a roundabout by an off roader (ironically the day after I was on here saying I'd never buy an off roader because of safety) that came onto the roundabout without slowing or spotting GF. Left hand side took a big hit and the car was written off. Being a decent, modern car it held up perfectly and the end result is one less Vauxhall Astra in the world. Hardly a big issue.
Had she been in something older, an 80s Peugeot 309 for example, she'd not have been killed but probably hurt.
The short term replacement I bought was a 2005 Renault Megane. Dull, doesn't handle, not particularly well made but a superb place to be in an accident. Internet bravado aside, that's really important.
Do you wear a bike helmet every time you ride a bike? Do you look both ways every time you cross the road? Have you ever been out in a lightening storm? These are all different types of risk that can potentially be life ending but people ignore as they don't perceive them as major risks.
Personally, my dad is 65 and has driven all of those cars that you would now consider 'unsafe' and he's still here, so I'll keep the motorbikes and non-abs, non-airbag TVR and not be too concerned about snuffing it. Any crash big enough and it doesn't matter what you're driving!
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