Should there be a new Law for high performance street cars

[BlackinBlack]

I saw a motorcycle verse car accident a few weeks ago. It occurred right in front of me. Due to my experience I was never in danger and did not even have to panic stop to avoid. (The accident spread debris across all lanes.) The bike rider was KILLED ON IMPACT. He was wearing a helmet, gloves and a jacket. (Far more protective gear than 90% of the dumba$$ bikers I see) The car he impacted was a Honda Fit (IE very small and light by today's standard.)

The women driving the car did not do anything aggressive or dangerous but she either did not see the bike or she did not react properly or did not know how to handle the situation. Her ultimate response was stop which basically made her a stationary wall that the bike hit. The biker did not even brake.

So now I will always see the face of this dead boy. He is DEAD at my guess under 30 years old. His family has lost him forever. He will never enjoy another day or grow old. For the woman, she will always have to remember that even though she did not intentionally or due to driving aggressively cause the accident. Her car (IE her) killed a person.

Maybe a little training could have prevented this loss of life. I cannot tell you the number of single car accidents I have seen just because the driver did not respond to the situation properly. It is selfish and irresponsible to not think training should be required. It is not about liberty or a nanny state. Would you let a person operate on you without training? How about flying in an airplane with someone without training??

Originally Posted by punkindave

I would support graduated licensing for motorcycles (as it is in Europe) but not cars.

Bike courses will help but if the people around you are driving like idiots.... kind of hard to react when someone changes lanes without signalling or is tailgating your bike and you have to panic stop. 400lb bike verse 3500lb car. You lose every time and have no cage or airbag to protect you. You will get injured it is just a matter of how bad.

Originally Posted by gen=5

Hell even the best drivers in the world go to driving schools to improve their driving skills.How many schools do you think jeff gordon has gone to over the yrs ????? The smart one get driver training.............

Guess all the best race car drivers must not be as good as most people on the street.

[HDRDTD]

In my book, basic emergency evasion driving should be included in Drivers Ed, typically in high school and required before you can even get a drivers license.

Aside from teaching the basic skills back then, what do you do in the car case of a high performance car like our ZL1 or many others?

In the case of the ZL1, I still am a believer in that at least part of the intended 'recommended ' break in period of 1500 miles is to get the drive acquainted with the characteristics of the ZL1 on medium terms, before letting him drive it full out.

Should it be MANDATORY for a ZL1 buyer to attend a drivers course? heck no.

Can and should they recommend one perhaps when you buy the car? Perhaps, but they're (the dealer) there just to make a sale and they wouldn't want to open themselves or the dealership to any legal issues that may crop up.

For that matter, these issues could/should come up for any and all cars sold.

Bottom line is, there's not much we can do other than to warn new drivers that this car CAN and WILL get away from you in a heartbeat if you're not careful.

And WE can give them advice on what to do as far as taking a driving class.

As they used to say on Hill Street Blues, let's be careful out there.

[Sven59]

What is the difference between a high performance car and and a normal car when it comes to driving on the street? The high performance car can stop faster. If you drive a high performance car and follow existing laws it should be no different than driving a chevy malibu. Now, if you drive the high performance car on the street like a high performance car then you may have some issues. Someone with a yugo can kill someone just as easy as with a high performance car if the driver doesn't follow the law. I can drive my ZL1 just as slow as a Yugo.


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[gen=5]

Race car drivers do go to driving schools to learn to drive either a certain type of course,track or car..happens all the time..jeff gordon had been racing for yrs,won 100's of races,but while he was at buck bakers driving school he was given his big chance in nascar,thats where he met ray at...he was learning to road race....after yrs of dirt track racing...Ray told me the story while we ate together at Bristol motor speedway one weekend . really nice guy....

[S-eatin-grin]

no law...but it would be nice if insurance companies would cut you a break by taking a class such as this. They do it for motorcycles. That alone would be a decent incentive for people to take it and it would be a win-win situation

[gm_joe]

Originally Posted by oldfriend

While we at it , let's make a law/test to find out who can be a parent !
I have to leave it

It's funny, there is no prerequisite to have kids, but to breed dogs you need a license. I agree with the earlier post that states a moron will always be a moron, no matter how much drivers training is taken.

[TomF1]

I think everyone should take a high performance driving test.
I mean everyone who has a license, no matter what they drive
It should be way harder to get a license
That would keep most of the bad drivers off the road

[CAM....ZL1]

Originally Posted by SargeantSarcasm

I'm 19 and drive a ZL1 everyday. I worked hard all through high school and got a full paid scholarship to LSU and I'm currently working on a degree in biochemistry in preparation for med school...rather than having to spend my college tuition on school, my parents spent their saved up money on a car as a gift. Personally, I think the whole topic is kind of unnecessary. If I had a civic and wanted to race it and drive carelessly I would. I have 600+ horsepower at my disposal just like most of the ZL1 owners on the forum. I have no violations on my record and plan on keeping it that way. I drive around with ZL1 emblems on my car proudly...that way I don't have to show off for people to know my car is faster than theirs. I rather have it and not use it than not have it at all...just trying to give you guys another perspective.

Sarge

Don't kid yourself, everyone on this forum has it and uses it or has it and will use it....lol. By the way I was nineteen once and drove the hell outta cars

[RaySouth]

Previously posted by Tom F1: I think everyone should take a high performance driving test. I mean everyone who has a license, no matter what they drive
It should be way harder to get a license. That would keep most of the bad drivers off the road.

You have got to be kidding. Who would you like to give more control and power over your life to? What if that person decides that you are a bad driver with or without just cause, and takes your license? If someone truly thinks they are a perfect driver I would like to meet them. Next, you will have them banning fast cars altogether. I am a very good driver, and usually drive in the highest skill level at HPDE events. However I would never think about turning over control to the DMV, or you to let someone else decide my fate to drive a "fast" car. Why you would want to I can't understand. Have you really thought through the unintended consequences of your desire to "keep the bad drivers off the road". You could easily be lumped into this pool. Who controls the definition of bad. The one thing I would be sure of is that it would change, and be a moving target as everything else in the government is. I know I was deeply involved with it for 16 yrs.

[Trickskier]

The difference between Genius and stupidity is that Genius has it's limits.

[infernostripes!]

Obamacare high performance driving lessons, because obama cares No one should be forced to take high performance lessons. I was 17 when my parents bought me my SS. Ive never raced outside the track or received a ticket. I know if I ever did anything stupid my parents would take the car away and make me drive something else.

[TomF1]

All the people who said you can't fix stupid are wrong.

Workplace injuries are Down to about 10% of what they were in the 60's
Drunk driving is way down
All due to legislation and mandatory training

Cars are way safer
Airbags
Antilock brakes

It has been proven in many ways that traing and education work

[RaySouth]

Originally Posted by TomF1

All the people who said you can't fix stupid are wrong.

Workplace injuries are Down to about 10% of what they were in the 60's
Drunk driving is way down
All due to legislation and mandatory training

Cars are way safer
Airbags
Antilock brakes

It has been proven in many ways that traing and education work

Don't get me wrong. I am for driver training. It is however the drivers responsibility to obtain it at their discretion. No more government mandates or intrusion into our lives.

[scoticus.rex]

I would not mind seeing optional training offered at the time of purchase. I think there is a percentage of people who would take them up on the offer just to go out and run on a track with an instructor at high speeds. That being said, mandating it is unnecessary and I don't think it will keep stupid people from doing stupid things. Point in case, the guy who was driving when Paul Walker was killed was highly trained. Didn't keep him from doing stupid sh!t with a very powerful car in an area where he absolutely should not have beenn playing around. There is no patch for human stupidity.