Friday, September 14, 2012
Over-zealous young drivers in F1
It is not only on the general roads that young driver insurance tends to be a bit pricey.
In Formula One racing things are much the same – in this high octane world of races, chases, thrills and spills it is the older, more experienced and less gung-ho drivers that are cheapest to insure.But there is a more serious side to this – younger drivers in F1, so keen to make their mark and to show their fearlessness, are said to be more liable to take the kinds of risks that might lead to serious accidents.
It was during Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix that the young Romain Grosjean caused havoc as he shot dangerously out of the blocks in his Lotus car. He was found to be driving recklessly and will miss the Italian Grand Prix as a punishment.
Such antics do not go down well with other drivers, although most remember what it is to be younger and less reflective. "I'm not angry with Grosjean, he definitely didn't do it on purpose," said Fernando Alonso, one man who suffered because of Grosjean’s over-zealous start.
"It was a case of me being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I think that certain drivers should try and take fewer risks at the start. It's a bit of a tendency currently in the junior formulae, but it would be better if, right from the start of their career, they got used to respecting more strictly the rules relating to behaviour on track."
It’s also true that the more accidents drivers have, the higher their motor insurance premiums will be. And which team in its right mind would want to insure an accident-prone driver!
Image © UNIF1ED via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: accident, F1, Formula One, Grand Prix, insure, race, road, young driver insurance
Friday, September 7, 2012
Sports car v skateboard
If you were an expensive sports car with a shiny red paint job to make you look even more desirable – being beaten in a race by a lesser vehicle would probably be embarrassing.What if that vehicle was a skateboard? You’d probably be a deeper shade of red come the end of the contest.
Well, for one sports car this nightmare recently became a reality.
The Corvette C5, which is capable of doing 200mph, lost a drag race against the Gnarboard’s Trail Rider.
The Trail Rider is an electric skateboard, and whereas it probably wouldn’t have beaten the sports car in a race of a whole circuit, over a short, straight distance, it powered to the finish before its rival.
So – are you fed up with the cost of your car insurance? Maybe an electric board is the way to go.
The only thing is, we’re not sure if the U.S. company which makes them delivers to the UK, plus the board might not be road legal, and it’s probably not that nice to ride in the rain, and – sticking to your car is probably better in many ways.
Photo © jking89 via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence
Labels: Corvette C5, electric, Gnarboard, race, road legal, skateboard, sports car, Trail Rider, vehicle