..nvr really thought about it at all till reading some of the recent posts by nox about his lucky escape...i was a MANIAC when i was younger, and i thank my lucky stars sometimes that i'm still here..somebody up there must like me, which is just as well, cos i dont get on very well wi hardly anyone down here!!....you can have as much 'fun' in smaller cars with less power as in big horsepower models. i drove all the wee hondas i'v owned and my cinq sporting much harder for much more of the time than i ever did my t5!!...but if i'd come a croper in any of the wee cars, game over!! its all about choices and education. if you have an 18 yr old son or daughter and you own a powerful car, take responsibility..dont give them the keys till you know they are responsible and skilful enough to handle the car...personally, mydaughter will be geting a bloody 240 volvo or saab 96/99/900 for her first car 'cos i will personally be so much happier knowing she is surrounded by industrial strength swedish technology than sitting in a tin can with all the structural integrity of a wet kleenex box...might cost me more for insurance, but hell..were talking about lives here, put a cost on that!!??...it also helps that at twelve years old, she is already as bonkers as me about cars and would be delighted with any of the above!!...COULD the way forward be an advanced driving test including car control, skid pans etc..for EVERYONE that wants/needs a car over, say 220 hp...i have been in cars with several of my mates who are 35 plus yrs old and to be honest have been appaled at their standard of driving. age need not be the deciding factor..any one who can prove they have the attitude, ability and the willingness to learn ie sit and pass an advanced test should be entitled to drive a powerful car...and in my opinion it should not be just a power ceiling, it should be based on power too weight. at the end of the day if a seventeen year old or a seventy year old can prove to an independent assesor that they have the requisite skill to handle a powerfull, fast car, and have the money to purchase it AND insure it, why shouldn't they be allowed to drive the car they want. my last idea is that ANYONE driving a car above the ceiling limit set should have their own insurance in their own name for the car they are driving and that insurance should only be issued for the car if proof of passing the independent advanced test is shown. this would stop old and young alike driving performance cars on other peoples policies and 3rd party on their own policty driving someone elses rocket. it may have the added bonus of bringing insurance for high performance cars DOWN cos the peopl who are allowed to drive them, young or old, are more likely to have the requisite skills for these cars and are therefore less likely to crash them...stay safe y'all.....
an advanced driving test including car control, skid pans etc..for EVERYONE that wants/needs a car over, say 220 hp
------------------------------------------- Lot of good ideas I agree with there. I would extend the idea above to everyone though (not just cars above 220bhp). The Civic Type R won't fit in that category but you really need to know how to handle it.
thats where the power to weigh thing comes into play...see...iv thought of everythin...things will be different when im in charge.....benevolent dictator....shaven head...make the trains run on time...sound familiar...haha
Originally posted by biggbn: .make the trains run on time..
Ha ha - No Chance!
Looking back I was equally lucky! Its surprising what you could do with a 1000cc Mini with bigger tyres, can remember some close calls, though.......
Never got into the "Nox style" mods though, I didn't have much money and what I had was spent driving all over the country watching F1 Stox - think thats why I've never felt that out and out speed is the be-all and end-all - I just love driving, and I don't care what it is I'm driving!
Originally posted by Bamford: F1 stocks at Nelson! Unforgettable!
Graham Blundell's mum always used to say that Nelson was a great "leveler", didn't matter how much horsepower you had it was how good a driver you were - Smitty always got a good run for his money from Cronny there! Shale track, very, very small (for F1s) and a great atmosphere - and they had to drive the cars across the main road from the pits to the track!
Originally posted by Noxide: Thanks for that Biggbn!
And what might "Nox Style" mods be b308?
Simple - new engine, more hp, suspension, etc, etc - as i said my cars were mainly stock, tyres were about the only change - no insult, m8, just I spent my money elsewhere following the racing........
I can understand that, different people have different pulls.
I used to be a fan of watching the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch before they ruined it with stupid weight restrictions - I'm talking about the days of Alain Menu in the Renault Laguna, Rickard Rydell in the Volvo 850.. even remember when Mansell got put in a Ford Mondeo for two races!
Even better than that was the days of the Sierra Cosworths being driven by Rouse and Needel with Murray Walker commentating. Real racing with real cars, that was.
Yep British Touring Cars used to be fantastic! Now it’s just a bunch of pathetic Euroboxes like bloody SEAT Leons. The British GT Championship went the same way… they went from having what were considered ‘slow’ cars like 911 GT2’s to stuff like Clio’s… it was appalling to see such demise. At one stage in the late 90’s there were 3 McLaren F1’s thrashing round the tracks against Panoz GTR’s and Porsche 911 GT1’s but unfortunately that’s all over now. It’s just not the same seeing a small French hatchback going round in their place.
Good old Murray had the disadvantage of tyring to comentate on something where the events could be happening just out of shot,that and for periods of time the race could just be a procession waiting for a pit stop or overtake oportunity
I'm a fan of F1. There, I admitted it. It's pitiful the way James Allen has to try to inject excitement into some of the most boring races. At least Murray kept it interesting without really trying- his enthusiasm just poured out of him.
Originally posted by Alfisti147: I'm a fan of F1. There, I admitted it. It's pitiful the way James Allen has to try to inject excitement into some of the most boring races. At least Murray kept it interesting without really trying- his enthusiasm just poured out of him.
Spot on, James Allen is woeful. It's all in the mix guys!
I had an M3 e36 286bhp when i was 20. Saying that though i did drive it very well and had it for 5 years, in that time it was totally unscathed and in mint condition. A cherished example, hope it's stayed that way, anyway.... I don't know how i actually managed to get insurance, but it was pretty easy. It's unreal what young guys drive these days, a guy locally has an 2005 impreza sti type-something or other and he's only 20.
In many ways younger drivers get a bad press, it's often not young kids tail gating, refusing to use indicators, displaying total ignorance of what is happening around them, using mobile telephones, pulling out in front of people in stupid situations etc. OK young kids have driving issues, but so do people of all ages and in my experience many of the most dangerous drivers I see are definitely not kids.
Originally posted by b308: I suppose thats why a much higher percentage of the little angels are involved in crashes than their elders?!
jjb has a point though. It's often inexperience rather than stupidity that gets young drivers killed. OK, so there are some utter idiots among them, but experience teaches you to slow down before taking a bend on a wet road in autumn. Experience teaches you to connect a smell of fresh diesel with a slick road surface, experience helps you spot a car being driven slightly oddly and avoid it -because you've seen it before etc, etc, etc. Sometimes, it is not knowing your own limitations. There are plenty of 30, 40, 50, 60 something drivers out there who are accidents waiting to happen, but somehow they're not quite stupid enough to actually have the accident. And then there are the 'boy' racers, the ones who load up a Nova with their mates and just can't help themselves acting like eejits. They are very different to those who still have a lot to learn about even the basics. Maybe compulsory P plates for novice drivers (up to 24 months after passing the test?) would help, after all, who berates learners for their lack of experience? We take it for granted that they won't be very good. A P plate would convey the same message.
Bright green P plates on an Imprezza. That's sooo kewl.
Well we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
There's a fine line between "inexperience" and "stupidity" - I agree that inexperience causes a lot of accidents for younger drivers, but its usually stupidity that leads to the crash - if you don't believe me look at the facts which show that young female drivers don't have as many accidents as young male drivers, why? because they don't tend to do stupid things when driving, like driving too fast in inapropriate conditions.
Don't get me wrong, older drivers do stupid things as well, as jjb says, but the fact remains that younger male drivers are more prone to having (large) accidents, so they will get "bad press".
P plates are good for telling other road users that you are new, but unless they are part of a larger package (ie restriced use, engine size, speed, time of day restrictions, etc) they won't do much good on their own. Don't Northern Ireland have some restrictions on new drivers? Anyone know how that works?
