Should all new drivers be restricted to certain sized engines?

Question

Seeing as a lot of accidents are caused by new drivers (mainly males) speeding about and showing off as they can drive, should there be a limit set so they only drive a car with a certain sized engine, say 1.2 max, for the first 2 years of driving?

Do you think it would reduce the amount of accidents and deaths?

Opinions please...

Answer 1

as others have said probably won't help. Even a 1.2 is dangerous if you drive it like a tw@t .



Back in my day (when it were all fields) all the boy racers had (Mk1) 1300 (1600 at best) escorts and were always having smashes.... compared to those a modern 1.2 hatch is a Ferrari.



A few tougher rules for new drivers like they have in Aus wouldn't be a bad idea though.

Answer 2

People are encouraged to gain more driving experience in a low powered car by the loading of insurance premiums for new drivers -however i dont think legislation is the right way to go ie a new driver will be banned from driving a transit van with a 2.0 litre engine for two years after passing their driving test ?

Its speed that is dangerous and a 1.2 l car can still do 50 mph on a 30 mph limit road so it will not stop irrisponsible driving.

Answer 3

In theory, you can get insurance for any size engined car,but as a new driver, you want to keep the engine size small. Stick with a 1.0 or 1.1 litre car, as these will have the cheapest insurance, but you will pay a lot of money, as you are a new driver, relatively young and do not have a no claims bonus.Stick with a low insurance group, 1-3 are your best bets as they cover cars ideal for new drivers. After 3 years or so accident/claim free, you will be seen as a lower risk by insurers, so your premiums will start to drop.

Answer 4

i dont think this is a good idea.

i would say the worst drivers on the road are old people they should be retested at 60 i think they cant see they just pull out and cause all the acsidents i also think there r lots of terrible women drivers out there who r to busy txting or putting theremake up on young lads are the same as well driving to fast but you cant say its just new male drivers .

i see plenty of of people driving round in 1.2 corsas and cleo etc speeding so i dont think the engine size makes a difference to be honest. i think if you get caught speeding or r in an acsident thats your fault you should have to go on a course about becoming a better driver showing videos of crashes etc and showing people whos lives have been ruined by dangerous drivers.

also the insurance is that high on a bigger engine for a new driver that there more likely to go for a smaller engine anyway.

Answer 5

Even with just 1.2 liters, teens could get into trouble. The main problem is that everything else about a 1.2-liter car is scaled down too, including brakes and tires.



A better choice might to restrict the hours that they can drive --call a a curfew of 9 p.m. for driving newbies.

Answer 6

It's done with motorbikes so why not with cars, they don't just take the bikes horsepower into consideration also the weight of the bike so as not exceed a certain power to weight ratio.



Why not go further and put some kind of speed restriction on them, these types of accidents have happened for years. Also new smaller cars have power far in excess of larger cars from years gone by.

Answer 7

Wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference. In most cases a small engined car is all a young driver can afford to insure anyway and some (though not all) of them are capable of driving like complete pillocks in a 1.0 litre Corsa! What's needed is an improvement in attitude of these people. In many cases they're capable of being excellent drivers, but simply choose not to be, for reasons best known to themselves.

Answer 8

I used to teach new drivers using Honda Civics But a lot of parents had bigger cars. From a safety point of view yes But parents wouldnt or couldnt provide a small car. The major cause of accidents is ATTITUDE. Make safetty a way of life

Answer 9

that would be point less. itlll just piss people off if anything. and if it were to happen people would just modify there cars to make it faster and have twice the power. as far as "speed restrictors" you can just go to a tuner and that little problem taking care of, its not that hard. or buy an aftermarket ECU

Answer 10

Yes- Motorcyclists are limited for 2 years after they pass their test.

My son is restricted on his motorcycle but has just passed his car test and can drive my car which does 150mph

Answer 11

No.



it wont smaller engine cars are usually lighter and perform badly in a crash.

I would rather be in a 3.0 Mercedes than a 1.1 Saxo in a crash.

Answer 12

Yes i think so, i also think ALL cars have speed restrictors on them! all these cars that can go to 180mph is ridiciloius, in the uk or ireland the speed limit doesnt go that far so whats the point!

Answer 13

I don't think that would help especially. The boy racers would still think that they are Lewis Hamilton and end up driving beyond their capabilities.

Answer 14

the only way is to do that and also have to do so many hours driving

Answer 15

no. seeing as their attitdue wouldnt change, and most of them have cars like that anyway cos of insurance prices

Answer 16

no why is that fair.