pauljbpaul
Member
Ive just read through these posts on M5 forum,very sad.
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=111454
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=111454
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Young drivers and fast cars,Very sad M5 crash
SilverSaloon
MB Enthusiast
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thats a scary thread to read through. Very sad.... i think new/young drivers should be limited to cars less than 1.8 or something
verytalldave
MB Enthusiast
Easier - and more effective if all drivers are limited to insurance group 3 cars or lower for their first year. And for the second - up to group 10.
Limiting by using engine size is ineffective. Caterham 7's and the like would see to that.
Limiting by using engine size is ineffective. Caterham 7's and the like would see to that.
chriswt
MB Enthusiast
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Very sad, brings home the dangers of speeding and how it can effect so many people.
Hope I never have to read anything like that again.
Hope I never have to read anything like that again.
chriswt
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I was overtaken by a Cinquecento on Friday night. I was doing about 85mph and the young female driver didn't exactly crawl by me when I pull over.
My point being that even cars with a group 3 insurance are capable of high speeds and if that tiny Fiat had crashed at 90mph with 3 passengers on board I doubt any would survive.
verytalldave
MB Enthusiast
18 years old and 500bhp is asking for trouble.
I have a 19 year old son who is learning to drive, and when he does pass his test he will drive a 1.2 Clio.
And even that is almost as fast as a 1965 Lotus Cortina was back in the day. My first car was a Hillman Imp with a 0-60 time of 22 seconds and a top speed of 75mph.
Any Father who allows his 18 year old son to drive his M5 is certainly a large part to blame. I hope he can live with himself. I couldnt. You cant wrap your kids up in cotton wool for ever, but at the same time you dont allow them to play with a loaded gun either.
I have a 19 year old son who is learning to drive, and when he does pass his test he will drive a 1.2 Clio.
And even that is almost as fast as a 1965 Lotus Cortina was back in the day. My first car was a Hillman Imp with a 0-60 time of 22 seconds and a top speed of 75mph.
Any Father who allows his 18 year old son to drive his M5 is certainly a large part to blame. I hope he can live with himself. I couldnt. You cant wrap your kids up in cotton wool for ever, but at the same time you dont allow them to play with a loaded gun either.
Yup plenty of teenagers die in small hatchbacks. I guess they're more likely to take people in other vehicles with them if they're in a big saloon like a 5 Series though. Did you see that M5 (in the OP) was airborne for 200 feet?
verytalldave
MB Enthusiast
I am dreading the next time we get a BAD frost. There must be countless of under-experienced drivers - of all ages - who have never driven on snow, black ice or pack ice. The last time I can recall a bad frost in the London area was about 4-5 years ago. I think I will stay off the road until its gone. Just a thought.
chriswt
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I don't think the M5 was his Dads, I think it was actually his along with several other fast cars.
When you know what happened to the poor kid and then read back over the posts again it all gets a bit eerie.
When you know what happened to the poor kid and then read back over the posts again it all gets a bit eerie.
verytalldave
MB Enthusiast
What you REALLY mean is he was driving too fast. Thats the bottom line.
No I mean it was an error of judgement - not that we can really know.
There's nothing dangerous about driving up and down a runway at high speed per se.
mercboiuk
MB Enthusiast
That is certainly chilling! It begins a query thread, and then it turns suddenly into a condolunce thread. He was only a member for a few days!
But yer that whole business of posting one evening and then he's dead the next day. Remind me of friend from PistonHeads. He was posting one day, the next day he was found dead
It's somewhat of a cliche, but this just shows how fragile and precious life is!
Darren
But yer that whole business of posting one evening and then he's dead the next day. Remind me of friend from PistonHeads. He was posting one day, the next day he was found dead
It's somewhat of a cliche, but this just shows how fragile and precious life is!
Darren
In my experience youngsters in cars drove much more wildly when I was a teenager, the cost of insurance, amount of traffic, speed cameras etc. have conspired to slow us all down. I truly cringe at the way I used to drive as a kid and that was only in 1.1 Golfs etc..
I suppose the only point with faster cars is that if you have an accident you are travelling so much faster that you don't get a second chance to change your ways.
I suppose the only point with faster cars is that if you have an accident you are travelling so much faster that you don't get a second chance to change your ways.
verytalldave
MB Enthusiast
While I feel I can trust my son - I dont like to tempt fate and NEVER leave the key to my Merc lying around. To get home from work to find a scenario such as this because he "borrowed" my key would be simply too horrifying to contemplate. I could never stop blaming myself. Best to simply remove that avenue of temptation.
verytalldave
MB Enthusiast
Precisely. I fully agree with all of this. I too drove like nutter at times. But there is a subtle difference between a 1964 Hillman Imp and an M5.
Its an inescapeable fact. MOST accidents are caused by speed.
If he crashed going along a runway, its 99.99% sure that it was excessive speed that was the major reason for the accident.
DITTRICH
MB Enthusiast
The story is very sad indeed.
When my step son passed his test, I put him into the W124 E300 diesel estate. He couldn't accelerate very fast and had to be much more careful on the road. Also, he had the luxury of a large diesel engine block and 2 metres of bonnet between himself and anything he might meet. Strangely the insurance companies still wouldn't allow him to drive the merc until he passed 25 years of age so he didn't have a car until then.
Les
When my step son passed his test, I put him into the W124 E300 diesel estate. He couldn't accelerate very fast and had to be much more careful on the road. Also, he had the luxury of a large diesel engine block and 2 metres of bonnet between himself and anything he might meet. Strangely the insurance companies still wouldn't allow him to drive the merc until he passed 25 years of age so he didn't have a car until then.
Les
