Viper, one of the most dangerous cars to drive?

Martin_yif

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Anyone know how dangerous the viper is to drive compared to other cars? Is there any statistics of how many accident the viper have been involved in? In Sweden where I live there is about 100 vipers, and what I know of at least 2 have been killed in one. 2% risk of getting killed sounds kind of high to me!
 

Blainne

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Very dangerous if one is an idiot.

+1 The Viper isn't dangerous... its the RETARD behind the wheel. The Viper doesn't come with "NANNY TECH" to save the driver of a Viper when they do stupid things behind the wheel.

The Viper is pretty much a RACE CAR for the street. If you drive it like a RACE CAR on the street.... BAD THINGS CAN HAPPEN with a stupid driver.
 

PAvenomRT/10

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First of all your sample size of 2 deaths in 100 cars is too small to make a conclusion such as you are making. As noted by others above, it is the driver and not the car that makes it safe or dangerous unless there is some inherent design flaw in the car making it dangerous. That is not the case with Vipers. Rather people who want to drive fast without learning about the car and its handling characteristics are what make it unsafe. The car is fine.
PAVenomRT/10
 

ViperGeorge

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The capabilities of the Viper should allow a competent driver to avoid accidents that drivers in other cars would be incapable of avoiding. It has awesome brakes (about the best there are), terrific handling (pulls over a G), and great acceleration to avoid some situations. However, these same things in the hands of a poorly skilled driver can spell disaster. Particularly the great acceleration, applied suddenly or in the wrong situation, bad things can and do happen. I think the problem is that too many people think that a great car makes them a great driver. They get in a Viper and think "well I can drive really fast, aren't I great?" Answer is "no you're not great, the car is if you know how to drive it." You certainly get stupid drivers in other cars too but I do think the Viper's image gives folks a false bravado.
 

sssammm

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Im a very experienced driver of fast cars, i respect my viper like no other car, yet i nearly flipped myself out of the car while accelerating hard, my hand slipped and changed into second instead of fourth, how i managed to dip the clutch was unbeleivable, shook me right up......for a day....
 

MarcRoth

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SSSammm A Viper is like riding a horse, If you respect it you should be fine but you allways have to be on your guard. S H I T Happens
 

VIPER GTSR 91

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The Viper can be very dangerous in the wrong hands and it happens a lot. Many vipers dont even make it home after buying one as owners dont know how to drive one safely.
 

ViperGTS

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50% of all Vipers are involved in an accident sooner or later...no, I have no full statistic on hand except my own.

Have/had 4 Viper so far - 2 crashed.
One by me and one by the (s)dealership!
 

Sonoman

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One of the problems with buying a car like the Viper is that everyone you know will want to go for a spin in it... right after you purchased it and are still getting acquainted with the performance and limits of the car. So even if the new owner is maintaining some common sense while driving by himself, he will be goaded into "showing what the car can do" by many of his friends before becoming very familiar with the Viper. IMO, this is one reason so many supercars are wrecked in the first two months of ownership (in addition to idiot drivers). I told all my friends who were salivating at the thought of a tire smoking test run that "it's not a carnival ride". New owners need to take some serious time exploring the limits of this car, preferably on a track and without passengers.
 

Shandon

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Coming from someone who was used to driving a Suburban and Dodge truck with no prior sports car experience, I say yes it's dangerous. So before I get beat up on for that remark pause and think. Would you say buy a gun to someone and not at least recomend them to get a little training? Owners should be warned at minimum to at least get some driving skills outside the DMV's stupid test. The car is unforgiving unlike your typical every day nanny car. I am a full blown track rat and balls to the walls my car as much as I can now. Anyone can buy a Viper with enough money but if they have not had experience with a high horspower and more importantly High Torque cars they should be at least warned to go slow and learn the car. I have no real grace for those that are critical of a viper owner who wrecks and then slams them and states "learn to drive". Yes people can be morons behind a wheel but thats with any car. The difference is a ***** behind a Viper will be in trouble so much faster than your typical toyota. IMO anyway.
 

Flexx91

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The term "dangerous" is relative in terms of the type of driver or the way the car is driven and the equipped safety features (sometimes referred to "nanny gadgets"). It is true that this car does not offer some of the safety protection (i.e. rollover protection on the convertibles) as some other vehicles but we all know (or should know) that upfront. That's like asking if pre-ABS cars are more dangerous than car equipped with ABS. If a person wishes to own a vehicle that offers these protections, then the Viper is not the car. No one will ever mention the Viper being tops in crash test ratings. I personally didn't purchase mine for this reason.
 

gb66gth

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99% of all statistics are exagerrated.

I understand so mant Ford GT's were getting wrecked that ford had their sub build extra tubs, after regular production had ceased. In fact it was part of that supply of tubs that Robertson Racing used to build their Ford GT's that ran at Le Mans this year
 

ViperTony

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+1 The Viper isn't dangerous... its the RETARD behind the wheel. The Viper doesn't come with "NANNY TECH" to save the driver of a Viper when they do stupid things behind the wheel.

The Viper is pretty much a RACE CAR for the street. If you drive it like a RACE CAR on the street.... BAD THINGS CAN HAPPEN with a stupid driver.

No stability control, no nannies. At best, there's ABS on some generations. In the end, it comes down to the driver both from a driving experience standpoint and from a "what to watch out for" perspective. For example, Old Tires + High HP/High TQ Viper = Bad Things. Many threads here about old tires, spin outs, accidents and even death. The Viper when pushed will bite you if you don't know what to look out for or how to control it. Cold tires (even new ones) cool temps may cause bad things. Breaking hard in a corner may cause the rear-end to slip out and bye bye. It's a race car that, IMO, is barely street legal as it should be.

All of the above is at the discretion of the driver. If the driver is an idiot then yes the Viper is dangerous but an idiot behind any car and it's the same situation.
 

vancouver-gts

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Not more dangerous than my 72 Challenger with its bias ply tires and light rear. Had the car for 8 years without accidents and I was no grandpa driving it in those years. I bet 80% of Viper crashes happened with owners new to Vipers, too impatient finding the quirks and braking traits of the car without ABS, within a few months of purchase.
 

georgethedog

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I think it is established how important the driver is.

I wonder if the original poster was looking more for comments about the frame durability, crash protection... Basically, how strongly built is the Viper say compared to a Vette. Which car does a better job of physically protecting the occupants? I think those are the questions that remain unanswered.
 

Smokin' 2

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The danger lies between the steering wheel and the seat. Most sports car owners cannot drive very well. Act like it is capable of killing you, even going all out at the track, and you are going to enjoy the car. I've seen more vettes wrecked after the driver shuts the nannies off at the track than I have seen wrecked Vipers (accounting for the difference in numbers at a typical track event).

I think a Viper owner needs instruction in properly driving a car from a good instructor familiar with the car's torque and performance envelope. One weekend driving an autocross with a skidpad or a weekend at a road course for a driver's education event does wonders. You do not have to be a track rat to enjoy the car.


I worry more about other driver's responding to seeing the car.
 

STUGOTS

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like sssammm said, its like NO other car out there, I had one since I was 19 (27 now) and never had any type of accident, but thinking "its just another fast car i can handle it" will get you killed
 

V10lover

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Anyone know how dangerous the viper is to drive compared to other cars? Is there any statistics of how many accident the viper have been involved in? In Sweden where I live there is about 100 vipers, and what I know of at least 2 have been killed in one. 2% risk of getting killed sounds kind of high to me!

Since Sweden is one of the coldest countries in Europe all year long it is important to always make sure that the tires are warm enough when racing or/if ocasionally driving those vipers ******* the street.
Pedal to the metal when the tires are still cold is asking for trouble at the street.
Also, most of the European roads and avenues lanes are not as wide as the ones in the USA and Canada so when a car loses control the crash will happen to be faster and harder. That might contribute to the bad stat if that one is acurate.

Also, the viper is a faster car than + 90% of what is out there most of the times.

I know of a few that have died in M3's when trying to corner too hard at the street. The type of idiots that though that those cars corner like God and nothing would ever happend. It was in my home country and one guy actually fell off a cliff after exceeding the M3's cornering potential and maybe his own drivers skills. The idiot died and so did his girlfriend.

In my opinion all it takes is one stupid driver with a heavy non-trained right foot hitting a grain of sand or a little oil on the pavement to cause an accident or something nasty.

Is drinking and driving considered on that stat. too? How about the use of seat belts? there are to many things to consider and convertibles should be put with convertibles on that stat.
 
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Martin_yif

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Here are some pictures from one accident. The driver was an old man 60+ He wasn´t speeding, driving about 30mph. The police thinks he lost control of the car because of acute illness. He hit the crash barrier, rolled over and landed upside down on the bicycle road below. The rollbars didn´t provide sufficient protection in this case...
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JonB

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WHAT HE SAID...... and Shandon, Smokin, Goerge, Tony, and a couple others too..... The SOTWARE MATTERS.... and we mean the sof-grey-matter between the drivers ears.

The capabilities of the Viper should allow a competent driver to avoid accidents that drivers in other cars would be incapable of avoiding. It has awesome brakes (about the best there are), terrific handling (pulls over a G), and great acceleration to avoid some situations. However, these same things in the hands of a poorly skilled driver can spell disaster. Particularly the great acceleration, applied suddenly or in the wrong situation, bad things can and do happen. I think the problem is that too many people think that a great car makes them a great driver. They get in a Viper and think "well I can drive really fast, aren't I great?" Answer is "no you're not great, the car is if you know how to drive it." You certainly get stupid drivers in other cars too but I do think the Viper's image gives folks a false bravado.

I do love your "old guy over 60" explaination.....REGARDLESS of his age, his old, OE RUN-CRAP TIRES even with remaining tread would have played a role.....
 
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AbsolutHank

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As stated earlier, tires are very important on a Viper...

Honestly, if you just don't mash the gas until you are headed straight...you'll be plenty fine. Non-ABS cars though, all of that changes...
 

slysnake

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Which car does a better job of physically protecting the occupants? I think those are the questions that remain unanswered.
Ask the guy on here that was in a head-on with a truck and lived to tell about it. (sorry, can't remember who it was)
 

Ghoust

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its like the saying: guns don't kill people, people kill people.

Vipers are terrific cars in the hands of capable drivers who respect it for what it is.
 

johniew398

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I can easily overdrive the limits of my ZR1, easier in the Viper; but, you just have to have tremendous respect for the Viper and you will be fine. Is it more dangerous? Only to those who don't have enough respect for all that power and how quick it can get away from you.
 

Sabera

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So what do you guys advise to new drivers? How should you handle a Viper when you first bought it? How do you learn to handle it? Just hypotethically, let's say you've never driven a race car before... Because these posts make me think it is practically impossible to handle a Viper if it's your first race car...
 
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