More Horsepower, Fewer Accidents

 

I've always held the belief that having a more powerful car helps you get out of the way. It's already saved my butt once already.

 

Makes sense to me, the people that drive these higher horsepower cars are stereotyped into this group of crazy HP junkies that go around thrashing up the streets. In reality, I think this group of people are primarily car enthusiasts that are actually paying more attention on the roads because of their love of their car. Also, they are probably better drivers to begin with and understand "how" to drive better.

Also, makes sense that the average repair cost of accidents involving these cars is higher since the cars cost more on average.

Good find Brad, I have gotten quotes for my '05 that may get here some day. And actually its about the same as my 01 Acura CL S

 

good article brad

 

I believe it may have more to do with the type of drive that drives this type of car. "Car People" are usually the ones who buy a non-econo car, and are usually better driver than non "Car People"

For example, back in the early 90s, when the NTSB tried to prove that speeders had a higher accident rate, to their shock, they discovered that the drivers who drove at the 90th - 95th percentile of speeds driven had the safest driving records.

(I don't recall the name of this report. The NTSB quietly swept it under the rug, however, lobby goups and the like have found it, and published it. If you are handy with google, you may be able to find it.)

 

I think another factor is that just about every mainstream car has 250+ horsepower now. Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, etc....no one would've guessed 10 years ago that your basic family sedan would be packing that much heat.

 

Even the base model mustang now has over 200, so EVERY mustang built now is in that category now.

 

Thanks Brad, that was a very interesting article, a real eye opener.

 

FYI

MY driving record is good and my insurance was going up @$300 on my new GT stang.

But by adding a GPS security system, the insurance only went up $82

 

I would be interested to see what the numbers are if you move the HP count up to 300. I know there aren't that many cars in that category, but there are a few. I really wouldn't call 200-240HP high. I guess its all relative.

 

I would be interested to see what the numbers are if you move the HP count up to 300. I know there aren't that many cars in that category, but there are a few. I really wouldn't call 200-240HP high. I guess its all relative.
[/b][/quote]

I actually was just talking to my insurance agent earlier today. I've got a clean driving record for at least the last 10 years and insurance on my '88 Bronco with a 210 HP 5.8 liter V8 is about $700 a year--and that rig is not overpowered by any stretch of the imagination. Adding a Mustang GT as a second car, takes the insurance up to $1200 a year. If I drop the Bronco, then the rate goes up to a little over $1400 a year.

 

[quote=Going_Gray,April 12, 2005, 1:09 PM]
[quote=moc1976,April 12, 2005, 11:42 AM]I was wondering about accident numbers for cars with over 300HP. Now that I read it, I wasn't very clear on that one

Your situation sounds about right to me. With the Bronco, you can claim that as your daily driver to your insurance compnay, and state that your Mustang will only be driven X amount of miles per year. For insurance purposes I think its mostly about what car are you driving most of the time, so by cancelling the Bronco, they know that the Mustang is the only car you'll be driving, hence higher rates. But, you probably already know that

The daily driver thing is what I plan to do with my Civic, and by putting low miles on the Stang per year, my rates should stay reasonable.

 

You mean, like, LoJack?

If not, please tell me what device this is, how much it costs, and what insurance company you have... I'm looking at paying upwards of $8k a year on my insurance!!! :shock: It sounds like this substantially reduced your cost...

Thanks!

 

I know I make a difference by being mature, disciplined, and responsible as all of you should be.

Lets be part of the team and keep those insurance profits high.

 

I agreed with you to such an extent, I just ramed my 05 into a pole. They think they don't have to pay out...... I showed them

 

$8000 a year for insuarance?? Are you getting yours through the mafia or something?? That is absolutely insane. You must have various speeding and OUI's to be that high.

 

This Progressive report might explain why my Progressive insurance is dropping from 130 a month to 80, going from an Accord to a Mustang GT.

 

Great article. I drive my Mustang like a little old man usually. I'll open it up once in a while on the highway when its dead but thats it. The day I bought it I got tailed by 3 cops going up to my parents house and I mean tailed! They should be watching the people yapping on their cell phones!

 

Tell us more, tell us more oh please tell us more!

 

A fascinating read, but the “link” between h.p. and accident rates is, in all likelihood, spurious. That is to say there may well be a correlation, but the relationship is almost certainly not causal. High h.p. cars do not “lead to” fewer accidents per se. For that to be proven, we would have to randomly assign high and low h.p. cars to every segment of the population and then compare the collision statistics over time. Alternatively, I would like to see Progressive provide adjusted cross-tabs that control for observable priors.

Age and SES (socioeconomic status) are two likely confounders, for example. Both are correlated with h.p. (people with different demographic backgrounds drive differentially powered vehicles) as well as accident rates (people with different backgrounds are differentially involved in collisions), breaking the causal link between h.p. and collision rates. Put differently, older and higher SES drivers are more likely to drive high powered cars and less likely to be involved in collisions (though I imagine a diminishing slope at the highest of age ranges, say 75+). That said, it would be interesting to see more (or perhaps better) data in this topic… B)