If You’re Going to Drive Fast in a Porsche…

In yesterday’s post I admitted to driving my car at 150 Mph + on a highway in Canada. What I didn’t talk about were the risks involved with that, to both myself and others. So, if today’s post comes off a little bit preachy, I apologize in advance. It’s not meant to be that way.

Prior to my drive up Rte 9 in Canada the fastest I had ever been in a car was 137 Mph. At the time, I was a kid in high school and the passenger in a 1987 Corvette. I only remember it being fun and exciting. I never thought of it as dangerous or reckless (I was still immortal).

So, on last summer’s trip “down” to Prince Edward Island where I reached speeds in excess of 150Mph, it wasn’t until afterward, once I had slowed to a less life threatening pace of 90 Mph that the truth sunk in. If I had hit anything larger than a pebble at those speeds I could have killed us both. What if I had blown a tire? What if I blew through a speed-trap (at best I would have the biggest fine of my life, more likely arrested and the car impounded)

I like to think of myself as someone with above average driving skills (that’s probably dangerous in itself) but I am in no way a professional or even close to it. This is what a professional driver can do with a Porsche (I’ve posted this video before, but I like it more each time I see it).

Seriously, when you own a sports car, especially a car like a Porsche, it’s almost impossible not to tempt fate and put your car to the test. However, not all cars are created equal and more importantly, neither are the drivers. Even the best professional drivers in the world, on closed courses are not immune to high-speed accidents. The following video is fairly grainy, but it attests to how quickly you can lose control of your car at high speeds (if you want to jump forward to about 1 minute into the video). Amazing there wasn’t more damage at 250 Km/h.

If you do feel “the need for speed” and I’m sure you do, at least think about the following:

1. Wear your seatbelt.
2. Check your tires (you need good tread and proper air pressure for high speed driving).
3. Check your brakes. It’s easy to go fast. It’s a lot harder to stop quickly when you need to. I’ve driven on the Autobahn a number of times and it’s absolutely amazing how quickly you can come up on someone at high speed. If you’re going to drive at top-speed your brakes better be able to reverse the earth’s gravitational pull pretty quickly. A car traveling at high speed, ramming into the back of slower traveling vehicle, is the number one cause of accidents on the German Autobahn.
4. Drive in a non-congested, scarcely populated area. The world is a big place. It doesn’t matter where you live. I’m sure, that somewhere within a short drive, there is a road more suited to hi-speed driving than your local busy freeway.
5. Remember, you may think you are in control of your car, but you’re not (too many external factors if you’re not on a closed course). More importantly, you have no control of those around you. Always be vigilant and remember, you can easily hurt others as well as yourself.

Okay, that’s enough preaching for now; especially as it is so hypocritical for me to be doing so. Don’t forget to participate in this week’s poll and as always let me know your thoughts or if I missed anything.