Text: Hannes Oosthuizen

Source: This article is taken from the September 2011 issue of CAR magazine.

Sometimes a lack of power is as dangerous as a lack of brakes.

A few weeks ago, I spent significant time on the N2 between Cape Town and Mossel Bay. For those of you who don’t know this stretch of road, it is magnificent, particularly so after the completion of recent roadworks. It is wide, the surface is in beautiful condition and there are plenty of stretches where double lanes are provided for the safe overtaking of slower vehicles. And yet…

I ended up spending much of my time staring at the back end of some pretty bad driving. There was a Dodge Caliber, for example, which simply could not get past a Toyota Hilux. Often, I would see the Caliber driver trying to build up speed down a hill in anticipation for the uphill section (and double lanes), gearing down and revving the Caliber so hard I half expected its pistons to shoot out the exhaust. And yet, time after time, the bakkie and Caliber would crest the hill at the same time, and the bakkie re-take its position in front of the increasingly frustrated and erratic Caliber driver. Later in this battle, I held my breath a number of times as the Caliber made desperate attempts to overtake, only to have to throw in the towel and back off to avoid a head-on collision with oncoming traffic.

The reason why this was taking place was also the reason why I was witnessing so much of it. I was driving my GWM H5 long-termer and, as a result, I did not have much overtaking ability at my disposal. I therefore sat back and watched several near-accidents happen in real-time.

At this point, it needs to be said that the bakkie driver was displaying obstructive behaviour, refusing to back off or pull aside. But I wasn’t amazed at this, because it is very common-place behaviour in South Africa. I’ve travelled the globe and have driven on every continent, and I’ve never seen a nation so obsessed with the status of travelling in the fast lane and the disgrace of being overtaken.

Perhaps that is why our racing drivers are so good. It is seemingly also part of our human condition and it is something that can’t be changed. And it will continue to result in avoidable road accidents.

Perhaps the answer lies in making cars more powerful/faster… But how? Let me explain it by using some examples. A Toyota Yaris Spirit Saloon takes 9,13 seconds to get from 120 to 140 km/h (overtaking zone as witnessed on the N2) in third gear, 10,22 seconds in fourth and 16,25 seconds in fifth. A Ford Figo 1,4 TDCi Ambiente, for example, can only do it in 20,6 seconds in fifth (it can’t do it in fourth and third). What does this all mean? Well, that you’ll be exposed to oncoming traffic for a heck of a long time should you decide to attempt an overtaking manoeuvre, and heaven help you if you’re going up a hill and carrying passengers and luggage.

At the other end of the spectrum, the new BMW 1 Series M Coupe, for example, does the 120 to 140 km/h sprint, using third gear, in 1,86 seconds. Even in top gear (sixth), it takes only 4,17 seconds. A Golf R takes 3,38 seconds…

Overtaking acceleration, in my opinion, is a seriously underrated safety item because driving a car with enough grunt will result in less time exposed to oncoming traffic and lessen the likelihood that you’ll become annoyed and frustrated behind another car with an unfriendly driver. It will therefore, in these instances, result in less dangerous driving behaviour.

I feel I can comment on this topic with some authority, as I’ve just stepped out of a vehicle with serious grunt (Range Rover Sport) into something with far less power (H5). I’m not complaining about the lack of speed. I am, however, intensely aware that I now have to plan overtaking moves in advance and concentrate far harder. The ability to accelerate out of trouble is severely hampered.

So, next time the European lawmakers meet to discuss future road-safety measures, perhaps they should have a look at some sort of an “overtake/overboost” function, using increasingly sophisticated on-board electronics to recognise an overtaking situation, and which will make an additional 100 N.m or so available at the push of a button. Perhaps they should have a look at a combination of F1-style KERS and DRS – it seems to work pretty well there. After all, us South Africans seem to be in a motor race whenever we get into a car…

Follow Hannes on Twitter @HannesO_CARmag