Are cars 'safe as houses', or a false sense of security?

[KerPLoD]

I've only been driving for 5 years, but all 3 of my cars have only 1 airbag, and two don't have ABS, those being my first Corsa, and the 240. I must admit, while I'm careful on my own, I find myself driving more carefully with people in the passenger seat, regardless of who they are.

Even in my 5 years on the road, I have seen driving standards becoming worse and worse. People drive utterly terribly as of late, between tailgaters, people who impatiently pull out in front of others(happens nearly daily now where it used to happen maybe once a month when I started driving) and just plain old erratic driving (which from what I've seen is no more common in youngsters than people who've been driving for years). Not only that, but more and more people drive at 35 on a national speed limit carriageway (though that's a different debate for a different thread).

In short, cars are safer, but they need to be, because the utter assholes driving them are worse than ever.

[DaveNP]

Cars as safe as houses? Yeah, if houses could travel at 70mph+ with a minimally trained operative in control.

One of the differences with the cars of today and the cars many of us grew up in decades back is the comfort level of modern cars. My first car, a Mini Clubman with no ABS, no airbags and drum brakes all round also had minimal noise deadening and no 'climate control'; if you were going fast the engine was screaming, if it was icy on the road you were cold; it was its own reminder to be careful. Compare that to a modern small car where you can hardly hear the engine, it's nice and cosy and there's a reassuring glow from the electronic dashboard, what's that? you have to turn the lights on when it's dark outside?!

[inchindown]

Try spending 18 months in hospital after being hit by a car coming out of a side street at speed.

You definitely develop a defensive driving style after that.

[id5]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

...So, do such systems make a car safer, or do they just imbue a false sense of security, which in reality may make them more dangerous?...

Cars should continually be made safer for the passengers and the others as it saves the lives but remove the drivers airbag and replace it with Angie's spike.

[reggit]

Just don’t get me on the idiots who decided that all cars will have blindingly bright lights on the front and nothing on the rear. DRLs they are called and light the dashboard up - most dangerous invention ever. The dash always served as a useful reminder to turn the headlights on in the dark.

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by reggit

Just don’t get me on the idiots who decided that all cars will have blindingly bright lights on the front and nothing on the rear. DRLs they are called and light the dashboard up - most dangerous invention ever. The dash always served as a useful reminder to turn the headlights on in the dark.

That is the one single thing that winds me up the most when out on the road.

One morning last week, it was quite foggy/misty on the way in to work and I followed three modern cars with no lights on at all at the rear. When we got to the first set of traffic lights, I pulled up in the outside lane, in front of them, and noticed all three had all the DRL's ablaze at the front, but absolutely sod all at the rear. What is really worrying is that none of the drivers would have had a clue.

[john.wigley]

I agree, 'reggit', but isn't that just another example of manufacturers, obliged, no doubt, by legislation, taking control of the vehicle out of the hands of the driver?

As 'Clan' points out in post #4 above, Volvo have always been in the forefront of vehicle safety. They introduced DRLs as long ago as 1976, but their system included the rear and dash lights as well. Therefore, unless one intentionally disabled the system by removing the fuse, the vehicle could not be driven without lights.

I think that not including the tail lights on modern systems is a misguided nod to 'economy', although the quantity of fuel saved by not doing so must be so infinitesimally small as to be almost immeasurable. I agree with you that that is a retrograde step.

Thank you everyone, as always, for your considered observations.

Regards, John.

[canis]

Well, indeed. I mean - was reaching out to press a switch really so difficult?

Just "upgraded" to a 1999 V40 from a 1998. It was bad enough the 1998 would automatically swipe the wipers even if the washers wouldn't work for some reason scratching salt/dirt/dust/grit across the screen - now it does it with the rear one as well! As soon as I select reverse the rear wiper springs into life if the wipers are on, even if the rear wiper blade is all floppy and hanging off.

Seriously though. These decisions such as when to switch stuff on or leave it off weren't particularly taxing. Some automation is just annoying, some is intensely irritating.

[MDS40]

I am very glad that car safety has increased since i first started driving cars in 1973. I don't take safety features for granted and understand their limitations.
I always fit decent tyres and brakes to my cars as that's my input to safety.
I guess many young drivers see it all as a video game that you can press reset and start again after a crash.!!!!!!

I used to drive motorbikes before passing my car test, just as the law regarding crash helmets came into force, i thought at the time this was a kind of bullying action by the state but now look upon myself as being stupid in the extreme at the time.
With regard to bikers these days, i have very little respect, whats with all this red line gear changes etc and using the road as their own private racetrack.

Sorry to any bikers on here who don't drive this way, but sadly you are not the norm anymore.

[Sysyphus]

We're interfering with Darwin's good work. All the safety devices are keeping the idiots alive to drive again.

The compulsory helmet law actually increased costs to the national health service. Motorcycle accident victims who would previously have required nothing more than a tag and a bag now need expensive hospital care, orthopedic surgery and months of physiotherapy