Are high performance sports cars more likely to cause car accidents? The reason I ask this question is my oldest daughter will be turning 21 in January. This is a major milestone birthday. She is a student at the University of Louisville School of Business and works at UPS. Since she has a good job and she earns her own money and has decided that it is time to get rid of her Volkswagen Jetta. She wants a sports car. A high performance car. I am not sure I am ready for this. Is this a bad and dangerous idea?

Now this doesn’t sound so bad until I think back to my first car. A 1968 Pontiac Firebird. It was orange with black racing stripes and referred to as “The Bird”. It was a fast car and it caused some problems on the road for me that I will not discuss here. Let me just say that the Ford Falcon I had for my second car was not as troublesome.

Reminiscing got me to thinking ans then worrying. First, how much fun a sports car is to drive. The power is exhilarating to say the least.  Then I started thinking about my experiences with “The Bird”. This new car my daughter is buying is going to be a lot more dangerous do be on the road. There is a greater chance of her being in a car accident. Maybe I should put my foot down and say no (Like that would really do any good).

Are sports cars really more dangerous? Are they less safe? Is a sports car more likely to be in an auto accident? Like any parent I am concerned about safety. Teens are less experienced drivers and many studies show that they are involved in significantly more automobile accidents in Kentucky. Putting a teen behind the wheel of a high performance car is a bad idea, pure and simple. The statistic go down at the 20 year mark.  They have more experience at this point and are better drivers.

Most sports cars rank high on the most expensive cars to insure. Typically mini-vans are the least expensive. An exception to this is Porsche 911. Is it the car or the driver? More than likely it is a little of both.

The fact of the matter is that a sports car tempts you to go fast, because you can. I find no statistic that show that sports car are in more accidents then a 4-cylinder vehicle. It comes down to the driver. As long as the driver exercises good judgement and obeys the rule of our Kentucky highways they will be fine. Talking to your children candidly and continuing to emphasize good driving habits is extremely important. Keep talking about safe driving so that these habits and your words are in their mind. This helps to reduce the risk of your child being involved in a catastrophic automobile accident. I hope and pray my daughter continues to exercise good judgement behind the wheel with her new sports car.

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