The stories about high-performance cars in our country have been very unnerving. The most nerve-wracking was the Pune incident. At the core of this accident was a Porsche Taycan that was being steered by a minor under the influence. It led to the loss of two software engineers. This was soon followed by a BMW accident in Mumbai and another in Delhi involving an Audi. One of them claimed the life of a woman and the other a man, respectively.
Some common elements of such accidents have been over speeding, young drivers and being under the influence. They made us ask questions at the absolute core. Here are the ones we believe that demand the most attention from us as a nation:
Can We All Handle High Performance /Fast Cars?
Not all drivers are the same, and neither are their skill levels. We don’t know if you agree, but handling a car that can zoom past 0-100 km/h in sub-10 seconds doesn’t seem like everyone’s cup of tea. If you watch F1, We are sure you know the concept of a super licence for driving an F1 car. While we know that is a very high level, could we take inspiration from it? Would having a second type of licence for higher-performance vehicles be a good idea?
Is Age an issue for High Performance Cars?
We’ve all been there, the teenage years when you have just hit the driving age. The first thing you want to experience is the thrill of speed. Is it right to let a 500 horsepower delivered to teenagers at whim? We are not implying a young person cannot drive well. (Max Verstappen Entered F1 at 17!). But is this worth considering? Should there be restriction on vehicular power for the youth? To drive above that, they would have to reach a certain age. Would this make them more responsible on the road? Would it lead to fewer road accidents?
Why is Drink & Drive Still A Problem?
This is such an old topic that speaking about it also feels like repetition. So, is drink and drive still a problem? Our laws are very strict towards drink and drive, in fact it is so strict that the amount of alcohol permissible in the blood of a driver in India is lower than in major countries like the UK, New Zealand and Australia. Yet, looking at recent cases in Maharashtra both the cases involved drink and drive suspect. While we put all our attention on strictness, the problem may lies in its implementation on roads. What can the government do to improve it? Can our OEMs also play a role?
Speed Limits Exist, but is Speed Limited?
What’s the first thing we look for when we read about a primarily performance-oriented car? Isn’t it the top speed? This GT can do 200 km/h, but the better one can do 250 km/h. These numbers might entice the car guy in us, but are they safe? Suppose you consider Indian roads to be per limits. In that case, the maximum speed you can attain is 120 km/h on expressways, not city internal roads.
We know there is a track day argument to this question. But how often do these cars roll on the tracks? An OEM we can remember on this topic is Volvo. They restricted the upper limit for all their cars’ speeds to 180 kmph. Though its not a number that suits the Indian roads but there is some ownership by the manufacturer. Can other carmakers try something like it? Can this be a more widely accepted norm?
