Are sports cars more dangerous

[obi_waynne]

Heres an interesting premise to debate. Are sports cars more or less dangerous to drive on the roads?

Here is my take. In the wrong hands it can be lethal. Give any average driver a top line 911 for a week and he will have an accident.

However sports cars handle better, break sharper and have the option of acceleration out of trouble which therefore means they are safer.

 

[HDi fun]

Break=brake

In theory no. For exactly the reasons you've stated.

The power to accelerate out of trouble is an interesting point. What is more likely is that they'll accelerate into it and make it worse.

What is even more likely is that they'll not notice the developing situation and therefore do nothing and have the same accident they'd have had in their own car.

 

[obi_waynne]

Give me a Brake it's been a long week! (My spell checker says its ok so it must be:toung

 

[charger69]

even a smart can be dangerous in the hands of a dumb and an unskilled driver.
it's all about the driver, not the car.

 

[billyo]

Agree with charger it depends on the driver.

Having said that though the Nissan GTR and Mitsu EVO are high performance cars that flatter even ameteur drivers and have great levels of grip and handling.

 

[prevtec]

i always maintaine your safer on the road with a more powerful car
you will stop quicker
manuver out of danger better
blah blah

in the hands of an idiot, they will crash, but people with sports cars are driving queit awhile, so we expect them to be able to handle them

 

[old-git]

A good driver AVOIDS danger by assuming eveyone else is a complete idiot. Works for me All my crashes have been my fault, except one (T-boned by an old lady driving straight across a junction), but even this could possibly have been avoided if I had assumed she was going to do this and allowed for the possibility.

The fact that someone has been driving for quite a while does not necessarily make them a better driver.

 

[HDi fun]

A good driver AVOIDS danger by assuming eveyone else is a complete idiot. Works for me All my crashes have been my fault, except one (T-boned by an old lady driving straight across a junction), but even this could possibly have been avoided if I had assumed she was going to do this and allowed for the possibility.

The fact that someone has been driving for quite a while does not necessarily make them a better driver.

Driving for quite a while and covering hundreds of thousands of miles are, indeed, very different.

I've held a full license since Dec 1987. Between then and now I've racked up over 700,000 miles. Thankfully all without any major problems. I have had occasion to make an insurance claim occasionally. I've not yet had a claim made against me.

I have on two occasions had to claim on my own policy. First was a hit and run in December 1999. Second was in Feb 2005 when my car was damaged whilst parked (legally, in the car park at Tesco in Brackley, Northants).

Are we referring to sports cars or conventional cars with high levels of grip, manoeuverability, acceleration and braking?

I don't for example. regard a Street Kak as a high performance car. No a baisc 1.6 Mazda MX5.

Perhaps it's the drivers of such non-sporty cars who have safety issues.

WE're down the the psyche of drivers and their ability here.

I regard myself as an observant driver with good anticipation and perception. I reagrd myself as swift, safe and systematic in my approach to driving. I am still learning, even after the monster mileage I have on my own clock!

 

[turbonutter69]

I regard myself as an observant driver with good anticipation and perception. I reagrd myself as swift, safe and systematic in my approach to driving. I am still learning, even after the monster mileage I have on my own clock!

I feel I'm the same sort of person. I tend to see the worst before it has or may happen thus avoiding trouble. I have had my licence nearly ten years now without (touch wood) an accident. I'm not saying i'm a good driver but I am saying that I antisipate what is gonna happen before it happens. There are so many inconsiderate and ignorant drivers out there that you need to think for them. I still still think that some people got there licences out of a cornflake box.

 

[obi_waynne]

That would explain it tn!

 

[Sid447]

Cars are as we all know,

an inanimate piece of mechanical engineering.
If you take it on it's own merit a sports car when compared to a normal production car, usually has a better suspension and braking system, a more responsive engine and better power to weight ratio. Therefore should be, in most road conditions (except snow and ice where the firmer suspension and wider tyres if fitted may work against it) be a theoretically safer driving tool.

It's always the sloppy link in the seat that makes the difference though, regardless of type or class of car IMO.

 

[HDi fun]

Driver error is, as you've said, albeit in a different way, the single biggest cause of road accidents.

Having mountains of spare torque can be very useful but unless you know exactly what you're doing you're more likely to accelerate into trouble rather than away from it.

 

[turbonutter69]

Driver error is, as you've said, albeit in a different way, the single biggest cause of road accidents.

Having mountains of spare torque can be very useful but unless you know exactly what you're doing you're more likely to accelerate into trouble rather than away from it.

My friend found this out the other week when he trashed his Astra through a wall. Y reg 1.8 Astra Sri. Body mods and he'd just had some £800 alloys about 2 weeks. The car is now scrap. All alloys destroyed. Not a straight panel on it and it's cost him around £7500 to get it where it was at. Worst than that though is he was only covered third party and he had an accident all on his own so he gets no payout :amazed:

 

[HDi fun]

My friend found this out the other week when he trashed his Astra through a wall. Y reg 1.8 Astra Sri. Body mods and he'd just had some £800 alloys about 2 weeks. The car is now scrap. All alloys destroyed. Not a straight panel on it and it's cost him around £7500 to get it where it was at. Worst than that though is he was only covered third party and he had an accident all on his own so he gets no payout :amazed:

Is your mate OK, apart from the financial pressure of having to fund a new car?

It's a shame when anyone bends cars as they're bloody pricey to fix or replace.

Even if it's the driver's own fault we should have empathy - we're all human. We can, and do, make mistakes from time to time. Sadly where roads are concerned such simple mistakes can be tragic to many people and their families.

 

[turbonutter69]

Is your mate OK, apart from the financial pressure of having to fund a new car?

It's a shame when anyone bends cars as they're bloody pricey to fix or replace.

Even if it's the driver's own fault we should have empathy - we're all human. We can, and do, make mistakes from time to time. Sadly where roads are concerned such simple mistakes can be tragic to many people and their families.

Amazingly he got away without a scratch. An I'm telling you by the look of his car he is very very lucky. He lost it on a straight road avoiding something. Bounced up the kerb hit the wall bounced off the wall hit a lamp post and then proceeded to roll it a few times down the road.
Luckily all that is hurt is his pride. But believe me he was very very lucky to even walk away from that accident. It just shows how good safety is in modern day cars.

 

[HDi fun]

Amazingly he got away without a scratch. An I'm telling you by the look of his car he is very very lucky. He lost it on a straight road avoiding something. Bounced up the kerb hit the wall bounced off the wall hit a lamp post and then proceeded to roll it a few times down the road.
Luckily all that is hurt is his pride. But believe me he was very very lucky to even walk away from that accident. It just shows how good safety is in modern day cars.

He was fortunate. Modern cars are well equipped with safety equipment, both passive and active.

In fairness I don't regard a 1.8 Astra as a high performance car (only mentioned this because the thread is entitled 'are sports cars more dangerous') but it does illustrate that relatively modest modern machinery will protect you very well indeed in the event of an accident.

Let's hope none of us (whether members of this forum or not) becomes complacent about such things.

Further, let's hope that this TQCars community members care enough about their driving and attitude to driving that we all make use of our observation and perception to minimise the risk of damage to life and limb - metal and plastic and also very expensive to repair/replace.