How much does having a safe car bother you?

[garethj]

terzo said:

A lot of people will have seen the various head-on crash tests that Fifth Gear have done, the 2004 Modus v 1992 Volvo 940 is interesting, despite the Volvo being an absolute tank of an estate car, massive bonnet area, the small (5 star NCAP) hatchback Modus comes out much better off.

But the Modus has a beam across the whole width of the front, the Volvo took the impact on the strength of a headlight and rusty front wing.

I wonder if in 10 years time we'll be laughing at those who drove a car with only 5 NCAP stars? Amazed they didn't die just by looking at it!

[dave_s13]

I've got one of these



And one of these



Balance.....

The in-laws took our then 14month old daughter down to devon for a week last year. There were going to drive down in their 54 reg pug 206. The main condition of them being allowed to take her all that way was to leave the bag of sheeite french tin can at home, let us insure them on the Volvo and they did the journey in that.

[Hammer67]

If classics are so massively unsafe and dangerous why are classic insurance policies so cheap? I`d imagine because they are used sparingly by drivers who both cherish the vehicle and drive accordingly. Result : very few insurance claims. I`ve been involved in classics and owners clubs for nigh on 25 years and I personally know of no accident involving a classic where anyone was injured.

I also bat at 3 in village cricket without a helmet, sometimes after driving to the ground in my Triumph. I`m fking reckless, me.

[Kong]

kambites said:

I don't think anyone is doubting that if you have a crash, modern cars are better (at least for the occupants of the modern car). The question really, is how much that matters. To me, not a great deal.

You dont care about getting maimed or killed by some dozy cow who decides to pull-out on you without looking?

Personally the older i get the more bothered i am about car safety. This is one of the main reasons i bought a Z4 rather than a TVR. Obviously you can't guarantee anything but i want to reduce the risk, particularly with the number of morons on the roads these days.

[gubsta]

There are a lot of flippant answers here.

My Grandfather died through no fault of his own when he was hit side on by a truck. If he had ben in a car with side impact protection there is no doubt he would have survived. He was in a coma for 3 months before he died and it almost finished of my Grandmother too (as a result of the stress). It has had a lasting impact on our whole family.

I generally drive very defensively (and despite spending my early driving career in an original mini) have always considered safety in a daily driver. If I ever had a track car or dedicated hooning car it would without question have a roll cage.

The point is - st happens to you too.

Edited by gubsta on Friday 7th January 20:22

[Alfanatic]

It would probably start to bother me at the moment I realised the impending crash was unavoidable.

[Negative Creep]

The way some people talk it's amazing that anyone who drove pre 1995 completed a journey without exploding in a ball of flame. I think some of this safety talk may be counter productive, as modern cars are so insulated and remote there's little sensation of speed or indeed danger. Add to this massive blind spots and atrocious rear visibility which blight most moderns and I do wonder if they are truly safer. Take for example the auto braking system Volvo are introducing. People will just drive around even closer to the car in front and paying no attention in the belief the system will get them out of trouble.

I've had 22 cars, 2 air bags, 1 ABS system (or rather one ABS system that actually worked) and zero NCAP stars and I haven't died once

[Jasandjules]

In the car which the dogs travel in, yes, I like having a Passat with airbags and safety features.

But in the TVR, well, that's just not got the safety features and it doesn't really bother me.

I do however drive very differently depending upon my passenger (if any).

[Cost Captain]

Safety means alot to me, I drive a mk6 fiesta and an 8P Audi A3 (both NCAP 4) and that is very important to me.

In response to 'just dont crash' : Say I have a blowout on the motorway and spin off into a ditch. I want to be in a safe car. Or another driver crashes into me, I want to be in a safe car.

Or any other thing that ends up in a crash that I couldn't avoid.

And finally, I would never forgive myself if a friend/family member was badly hurt or killed in an incident that in a safer car they wouldn't have been as badly hurt.

[John D.]

Can't say I've ever given it any consideration at all when buying a car. Much more interested in its performance and how it drives. Not to say I don't practise defensive driving/riding.

Nothing wrong with wanting a car with a high level of crash safety and sophisticated driver aids though. Some people are just more risk averse than others.

[terzo]

garethj said:

terzo said:

A lot of people will have seen the various head-on crash tests that Fifth Gear have done, the 2004 Modus v 1992 Volvo 940 is interesting, despite the Volvo being an absolute tank of an estate car, massive bonnet area, the small (5 star NCAP) hatchback Modus comes out much better off.

But the Modus has a beam across the whole width of the front, the Volvo took the impact on the strength of a headlight and rusty front wing.

I wonder if in 10 years time we'll be laughing at those who drove a car with only 5 NCAP stars? Amazed they didn't die just by looking at it!

I don't see your point, shirley it doesn't matter via which method vehicles like the Modus gets their very high rigidity but it will do to the person involved in an offset head-on (common accident type) if they are in an old motor. Don't think anyone is 'laughing' at those in old cars, just aware that after many years of cars reacting similarly in accidents, in the last ten years or so most cars have been built to redirect crash forces very differently, which is bad news for the other vehicle if it is an older design. I never thought twice about car safety when I had hot-hatches but I think nowadays I would be a little uneasy in something as flimsy as a 205, not due to my driving but maybe in dense fog wondering if some tt in an SUV is about to squish me.

[g3org3y]

Not at all, mid 1980s E30 cabriolet. Thin A pillars = no head in the event of a flip over. No airbag. No nothing.

[garethj]

terzo said:

garethj said:

But the Modus has a beam across the whole width of the front, the Volvo took the impact on the strength of a headlight and rusty front wing.

I don't see your point, shirley it doesn't matter via which method vehicles like the Modus gets their very high rigidity

The only point I was making was that safety has moved on for certain types of crash in 20 years. Well done to car manufacturers for not sitting on their hands. Having doubled the power of most cars but having nothing to show for it 99.99999% of the time you drive it isn't the path I'd prefer but each to his own.

For all those who care lots about safety, how many have taken active steps to become a safer driver I wonder? Advanced training, hazard awareness, not driving when tired, that kind of thing.

[kambites]

Kong said:

kambites said:

I don't think anyone is doubting that if you have a crash, modern cars are better (at least for the occupants of the modern car). The question really, is how much that matters. To me, not a great deal.

You dont care about getting maimed or killed by some dozy cow who decides to pull-out on you without looking?

I'm willing to put up with the small risk of that happening in order to drive a car that I actually enjoy driving.

[darkyoung1000]

My main transport is two wheels either with or without an engine depending on the journey but in either case I am open to the elements and other road users.

The car hasn't got seatbelts let alone any other safety features so it's safe to say it doesn't bother me unduly....

[fluffnik]

I'd rather have skinny pillars and lots of glass every day than fat pillars and restricted visibility just in case.

I like keeping myself safe with rigorous maintenance and the best tyres rather than extra airbags...

[randomwalk]

I had a 66 Chev Impala which being pillarless only had front lap belts, there were no belts at all in the back seat (I fitted them for my kids though). I remember my father saying " I can't think of a single safety feature in that car", 4 wheel drum brakes, no collapsible steering column, just lap belts and a nice steel dash. I used to think at least I had plenty of bulk around me compared to driving a 66 Mini for example. Although bulk is not that helpful in these old cars, I saw a youtube vid of an early 60s Chev being hit by a new car, the Chev passenger compartment was totally crushed by the smaller newer vehicle.

I had a few scary moments over the years trying to stop.....with 4 wheel drum brakes you never know where you will end up once the wheels lock up. Overall the lack of safety is only relative and how risk adverse is desirable ?

Whilst the safety aspect did prey on my mind it did not stop me driving and enjoyingit, I even took it on some long country runs, did some 26K miles in 5 or 6 yrs whilst using a great deal of fossil fuels.

[Ozzie Osmond]

fluffnik said:

I like keeping myself safe with rigorous maintenance and the best tyres rather than extra airbags...

Equally effective is making the ceremonial sacrifice of a small hamster before each journey to make sure nothing goes wrong.... Neither of them makes the blindest bit of difference if there's an idiot coming the other way.

[Mark-C]

I figure the front of the XJS is so far from where I'm sitting I probably won't know if I've had an accident ..... and the Fiat is such a tin can that I also won't know I've had an accident but for somewhat different reasons!

[garethj]

Ozzie Osmond said:

fluffnik said:

I like keeping myself safe with rigorous maintenance and the best tyres rather than extra airbags...

Equally effective is making the ceremonial sacrifice of a small hamster before each journey to make sure nothing goes wrong.... Neither of them makes the blindest bit of difference if there's an idiot coming the other way.

But what can make a difference is avoiding the idiot. They don't appear from thin air 10 feet away