• 54% say making drivers take a special test for high performance cars would reduce accidents
• 42% believe it’ll make those cars available only to people with the skills to drive them
• Just 6% insist that a standard driving test means you should be able to drive any car, shows new Startline Used Car Tracker

More than half (54%) say the move would reduce accidents, while 42% believe it’ll make such vehicles only available to people with the skills to drive them. Additionally, 23% point out it would reduce insurance costs for those models.

Very few of those questioned object to the idea. Just 6% say that people should be free to drive any car on a standard licence while 6% think the move could be counterproductive, with drivers who have a high performance licence feeling entitled to drive faster.

The question was added to September’s Startline Used Car Tracker research following a decision to create new Ultra High Performance Vehicle Licences in South Australia, applying to cars with more than 370 brake horsepower (bhp) per tonne. Their introduction was prompted by the death of a 15 year old Adelaide girl struck and killed by a Lamborghini.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “While cars with the amount of power affected by the new South Australian regulations are relatively rare on our roads, it seems that the public does feel quite strongly that their drivers should be subject to special rules.

“Certainly, most people have probably seen a high performance model of this type used irresponsibly and, when drivers lose control of a vehicle with that amount of power, things can go wrong very badly, very quickly.”

Paul added that an interesting point to consider was that a number of new electric vehicles (EVs) were appearing on UK roads that would potentially put high performance in the hands of drivers who would not other wise have access to that degree of power.

“The characteristics of EV drivetrains means they can deliver very high peak power. For example, the relatively accessible MG4 XPower has 429 bhp. While these are heavy cars and the bhp per tonne ratio doesn’t quite put them in the same class as something like a Lamborghini, they are placing much more power in the hands of everyday drivers.”

The Startline Used Car Tracker is compiled monthly for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research, well-known in the motor industry for their business intelligence reporting and customer experience programs. This time, 307 consumers and 60 dealers were questioned.