Do you ever think about how safe your car is?

[pshome]

old 505 vs modern C3, 505 clearly wins, vedict: Safe!

 

[CreepingJesus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPp5mhl3C2c

Any smugness I might feel about the tank-like build of a big Volvo is more than tempered by the knowledge of how old that hull is. I'm happy to have kids, dog etc in it, but my primary defence is not to crash.

I remind myself I'm not invulnerable in 44t of Daf either.

[Pillock]

My car is the safest place to be cos I am a brilliant driver.

[SiC]

After being in an accident that I could not have at all avoided and was not my fault, yes I do.

[danthecapriman]

Having had an accident some years ago in a 740, I've got absolutely no worries at all!

[myglaren]

I don't buy cars on their NCAP results but am reasonably pleased at how well the current heap performs in it.

 

[puddlethumper]

Having had one accident in forty odd years, I'm hoping that my awareness and positive attitude will stand me in good stead, and not having to think of "precious offspring" helps. 

 

No idea about a crash test for a 305. Cba to look.

[twosmoke300]

Used to like having the security of driving the 9-5 and certainly feel vulnerable in the saxo or Landy .

Like the wife / little one to drive something reasonably modern / safe ( Octavia) but I'm not too fussy .

Not sure how a non procon ten Audi 80 would fare ?

[solid61]

Not the sort of thing i think about much but i would think that my two dailys,fiat stilo and 129 merc sl would hold up very well in a crash,the fiat in particular looks to be built very well but ive no doubt some may disagree.

[garethj]

After being in an accident that I could not have at all avoided and was not my fault, yes I do.

 

In my experience this makes up about 0.00001% of all accidents, although if you ask people who've been in an accident it's almost always one that couldn't have been avoided.

[Justin Case]

Not too bad in an offset frontal, but I will try and avoid being attacked by lamp-posts:

 

 

Interesting to compare it with a new one, there doesn't seem to be any real difference:

 

 

I think more about safety now that I have two small grandchildren, killing your daughters kids must be even worse than killing your own In fact I have ruled out a number of interesting weekend toys just because of the lack of rear seatbelts. BTW that S60 was pretty impressive for a 2002 car

[wuvvum]

Ha amazing, where can I get myself an "Impactoscopic" steering column?

Poor man's Procon-Ten M8.

[SiC]

Not too bad in an offset frontal, but I will try and avoid being attacked by lamp-posts:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-1-e7LKeJs

 

Interesting to compare it with a new one, there doesn't seem to be any real difference:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra2Bc0VaCuw

 

I think more about safety now that I have two small grandchildren, killing your daughters kids must be even worse than killing your own In fact I have ruled out a number of interesting weekend toys just because of the lack of rear seatbelts. BTW that S60 was pretty impressive for a 2002 car

Isn't the newer test at a higher speed?

[strangeangel]

If you are worried about a crash you would never own a motor bike.

 

I do, and I do worry about crashing, which has probably helped me stay alive this long!

[mat_the_cat]

There doesn't seem to be much info around for the older stuff I have, but found this snippet on the LT:

 

https://youtu.be/hUOM-_K-ODo?t=8m23s

[Noel Tidybeard]

 

 

[Justin Case]

Isn't the newer test at a higher speed?

From the info that I've been able to find, the 2005 test and the 2016 test were both at 64kph.  The criteria for awarding stars in terms of injury may have changed, although I can't find anything, but the apparent damage doesn't look much different.

[richardmorris]

The only crash I have been in was in my CX Pallas- head on at about 30mph. Not my fault, the other driver was on th wrong side of the road through roadworks. The double bulkhead ( sort of) design saved me any injury apart from a bruised left knee ( hit the centre console ) and a seatbelt mark that took a month to disappear. Psychological scars remain after 16 years! I loved that car.

[HMC]

One thing that always tends to be overlooked is that regardless of the NCAP rating beyond a certain velocity and deceleration the human body becomes the limiting factor. There's also often the situation that outside the precise conditions of the test the car has been made to pass, are often not encountered and it just takes a slightly greater speed or a different angle for things to turn out very differently.

[UltraWomble]

If you are worried about a crash you would never own a motor bike.

[djoptix]

I certainly thought about it when Mrs Optix had a Vauxhall Agila. Definitely didn't feel safe enough for her, miniOptix and microOptix to be pootling around in.

 

By the way - people saying "it makes no difference, when it's your time" etc - don't be silly.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

This morning one of my offspring went to Sheffield and instead of her usual Fiat 500 took her sister's Volvo C30, there's not a lot of logic in this as the 120 mile M1 trip is probably safer than her 3 mile commute but we just felt happier she was in a Volvo.

Also I have no idea if the C30 is actually any safer than the Fiat.

[3VOM]

When you watch all the front impacts one of the biggest factors is how well the A pillar stays in shape. Which explains why modern stuff has 6 inch thick girders for A pillars.

[dollywobbler]

By the way - people saying "it makes no difference, when it's your time" etc - don't be silly.

 

Well, what am I meant to do? I've been driving 2CVs since I was 18, and I do not intend to stop now. So, clearly, I accept the risk and learn to live with it, or I'd buy some huge luxo-barge full of airbags. Oh, hold on...

[Noel Tidybeard]

Well, what am I meant to do? I've been driving 2CVs since I was 18, and I do not intend to stop now. So, clearly, I accept the risk and learn to live with it, or I'd buy some huge lexo-barge full of airbags. Oh, hold on...

 

fify

[PiperCub]

I accept the risk of driving older cars, riding motorcycles (old or not) and flying old aeroplanes as I've always done it and really know no different consequently. If I was uncomfortable or nervous about it, I wouldn't do it! Maybe sometime that day will come, I can't say. 

 

All the above can be thought of as stupid/reckless etc., that's fine, like I say, I understand & accept the risk as an intelligent adult. I also accept that others want to be as safe as possible so are happy to buy the latest safest affairs especially if they have loved ones in the car. Each to their own. 

[BorniteIdentity]

My own cars? Yes and no. I seem to have quite a liberal attitude to it.

 

 

Weirdly, it totally prevents me from buying a 205 or Metro. When I found a lovely 205 the first thing I did was price up a roll cage; that was even before an insurance quote.

[Bobthebeard]

Personally, no. I don't think about it. No vehicle is invincible. The safest car in the world won't save you in some situations. I just try to drive safely, sensibly and be aware.

[garethj]

That seems very condescending.

 

I was stationary in traffic on Wednesday night when someone else drove into me, he admitted full liability to his insurers the next day.

Exactly how do you propose I could have avoided the accident?

 

Likewise the scooter v Beetle video above, how do you propose the driver of the stationary Beetle could have avoided that?

 

It wasn't my intention to be condescending, I'm just repeating what a few trainers have told me.  Despite one of them doing tens of thousands of miles by motorbike he hasn't had an accident in decades.  We can learn to avoid a lot more than most people think.

 

I'm far from a trainer, don't claim to be one and don't know about your accident but one method is to leave enough space or an escape route if you're at the back of the queue.  In every situation think about where the likely traffic will come from - in a queue like that it's going to come from behind.

 

As I said, I'm far from a trainer so if you're interested, go and find a good one.  But it's tough to admit that any of us can learn anything about driving, maybe that's why so few people take further training.

[robinmasters]

..By the way - people saying "it makes no difference, when it's your time" etc - don't be silly.

That's the only way I can deal with it. Wherever you drive, there's a chance you may not complete the journey alive. People walk away from undoubtedly fatal accidents all the time, and die in minor ones.

 

Yes, you're more likely to die in an accident in an older car. But only if you have an accident.