So here's the question I'm posing...

Do you consider your safety and the safety of others on the road when you plan your modifications, especially when it comes to exterior lighting, performance & braking and rim & tire choices?

I've certainly seen plenty of modified cars on the road which might be great for a show car, but certainly compromises safety as a road car.

According to his NY Times article, once safest in the world, the US is now near the bottom of the barrel when it comes to road safety.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/au...DA&oref=slogin

One of the causes cited in the article is putting personal freedoms over safety.

While I'm definitely not one for a ton of rules, sometimes I do wonder if we stop and think before we do things, myself included.

 

mods go hand in hand with safety ... someone changing tires and wheels is looking for wider better tires and lighter wheels ... resulting in less unsprung weight improving braking and handling along with the added traction of better wider rubber on the floor ... HID upgrades allow the driver to see much better and pose no added glare to other motorists inside a projector housing and little extra glare in modern free form halogen housings (not mentioning people who try to retrofit ds2 projector bulbs in halogen housings cause thats not modding thats just fubarring) ... upgrading that exhaust system ? i see it as a huge benefit for other motorists to hear me when i am nearing them ... worst thing to me is a ultra quiet small car that becomes invisible when in other motorists blind spots.

so you see the question is really not are we considering these things when modding cause performance and safety go hand in hand to the capable driver...

perhaps the question we should be asking is how much comfort is too much ? what i see as a threat on the road is cars and SUVs that have increasingly quieter interiors, meaning they prevent exterior noises from coming in not talking about panels that don't creak, preventing the driver from hearing what's going on around them ... add the ultra soft sidewalled tires many SUV makers use to give the idea of a comfy cushy ride but no cornering performance ... and drizzle with some couch like seats that heat your buttocks while massaging the rest ... don't forget to include the speed sensitive steering that assumes you have monkey brains and do not consider that doing a full lock turn at highway speeds may have different results than in the mall parking lot and what do we have ?
total disconnection from the road we are on ... that is the true danger ... cars that can be driven by the most incompetent or the dead tired ...

 

Cabin sound isolation has gotten to me a few times, I couldn't quite make out where an ambulance was coming from and that was made worse by the ambulance not having their siren on continuous.

I do agree that there is a difference between modding and fubaring, the only problem is the fubarers call themselves modders.

 

Are you serious? We have way to much safety on the road as it is... ridiculously low speed limits, very safe cars, considerate drivers, extremely hefty fines and punishments, good lighting and good roads... Try driving in Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia, or anywhere other than North America, Western Europe and Japan and you will be thinking completely differently...

I would not compromise personal freedom for safety, because without freedom there is no need for safety...

and what intenseblu is saying about mods actually increase safety and not the other way around... is also very true... but to answer your question I have never considered safety my own or others as even a minor concern when selecting the modifications... For one if airbags weighed a little more than they currently do I would have them removed for the sole purpose of decreasing the vehicles weight...

 

Interesting comments. I have been involved in a driver simulator project for the last few years and as a by-product of this have analyzed a vast amount of data the cause and effect of modifications, tyre wear, driver behavior seat belts alcohol etc.

It all comes down to driver and the vehicles fit for purpose.

Simply changing wheels and tyres can have huge safety benefits.
Lighting the same, shock absorbers and brake pads all contribute.

The sad fact is that vehicle manufactures usually set the car up for the lowest common denominator and cost.

In a country that is the most heavily policed and restricted when it comes to vehicle travel we rate number one for safety but ZERO in the fun factor.

Sped limits set to 110 Kmh for vast distances, try speed cameras that average your travel over hundreds of kilometers, and if you are THREE kilometers per hour over the 110 KMH limit your are posted a fine with demerit points.

Double points losses for public and school holidays, a vast network of cameras both overt and covert, mobile cameras, video cameras in unmarked police motorcycles, all automatically dispatched without the presumption of innocence.

There are no such thing as accidents simply crashes that are cause by a set of simultaneous events leading to a BANG and repair bills.

We are fortunate to drive a capable vehicle that can safely cope with MOST events and usually owned by an enthusiast can be driven effectively.

Modifications for safety, you can ALWAYS improve on the mass manufactured product...

Good tyres avoid crashes.
Seat Belts save Lives.
Alcohol and driving do not mix, 0.05 % BAC here in AU.
Drugs and driving do not mix . We also have random alcohol and drug testing.

Speeding does not cause a crash inattentiveness, boredom or sleep deprivation does.

End of rant.

 

Your rant is well put. 110 km/hr = 68.35 mph for those in the US, and a pad of 3 km/hr gets you all the way up to 70 mph. Now that's scary...

 

If you're that scared, stay inside and watch the TV!!!

 

everyday I drive my crossfire in the states a battle in my mind happens to whether I should drive the car the way it is meant to be driven or drive like a beginner...

70 mph in the amazing road conditions and car conditions that we average is unreasonable... as this is the car that can handle twice that safely... and if there is anything on the road that I fear it is not the drunk drivers not the blind, the old, or the dumb.. it is the police enforcement and their super strict enforcement...

 

Now I got a kick out of that after the few serious previous threads.