How safe or dangerous are Lambos for kids?

So I'll tell you a story.

 

I took my two year old son for a ride today to finish up some last minute Christmas shopping up at the Domain in North Austin. He and his sister both love "Dadda's Fast Car" so it's a great treat to hang out with my little boy.

 

I strapped in his Recaro child's seat and strapped him in. Turned off the passenger airbags and drove like a wuss all the way over there (about 20 miles or so, mostly low speed roads.)

 

I pulled up and parked and got a lot of "thumbs up," "cool car" "wows" etc.. Kewl. :-)

 

Anyway, so I pull my kid out of the car seat and as I'm unbuckling him this chunky woman says to me "that's dangerous to have your child in the front seat (as she put out her cigarette, two of her own spawn in-tow) you shouldn't drive with him in that ridiculous car."

 

I told her to mind her own business and get back to consuming. But.. I started thinking about it, maybe she was right.

 

I consider myself a safe and defensive driver, and even moreso with my little ones in the car. But was that puffing hag correct? Am I endangering my kids by driving in the passenger seat of my Lambo? I see these people driving while eating, talking on the phone, turning on the DVD player, drinking, texting, applying makeup- with kids in the back seat. Am I justifying my actions? I'd like to see some facts on the topic.

 

 

 

 

She was probably assuming you drove the car fast with him in the car...which clearly you weren't.

 

I'd bet statistically, children are safer in the back but if I had kids, I would take them for a spin in the car in as safe a manner as possible.

you have to manage your risks.

IF there is an airbag that you cant turn off, then yeah.... They shouldnt be in it....

 

 

Thats where all this "Kids in the back seat only" thing came from.

 

But you said you had turned it off.... So tell her to blow it out her ass (I have told many a mommy to shut her pie hole in my day regarding this issue.)

She's talking out her chunky ass. The fact is that Lamborghinis are designed to crash at high speeds and still allow the occupants to walk away. She was probably driving a Kia that by comparison explodes on impact. If you were driving safely, you were not likely putting your kid in any high risk situation. I'd feel safer in a Lamborghini than I would feel in most cars.

Do all the current Lambos allow you to turn off the airbag?

She's talking out her chunky ass. The fact is that Lamborghinis are designed to crash at high speeds and still allow the occupants to walk away. She was probably driving a Kia that by comparison explodes on impact. If you were driving safely, you were not likely putting your kid in any high risk situation. I'd feel safer in a Lamborghini than I would feel in most cars.

One would assume if airbag switches were in back in 04 that they should still be in there now. But don't want to assume.

Do all the current Lambos allow you to turn off the airbag?

 

Yes, there is a lock on the right of the dash that you can only see with the door open. It requires a special key.

The fact is that Lamborghinis are designed to crash at high speeds and still allow the occupants to walk away.

 

I believe you, seeing some anecdotal evidence of people walking away from unbelievable wrecks! would sure like to find some documentation to that effect! Anybody have high-speed crash results or engineering specs on these cars?

That's not something you'd find. Look at the photos of the white LP that just crashed. Notice the intact passenger compartment after a 45 MPH crash. There are other sites such as WreckedExotics and if you Google the term it should come up. Many of the photos don't give you the speeds and in numerous cases, the speeds are extremely high. One point of deception is that with the ceramic brakes, they stop in a hurry and often provide misleading data suggesting the car was driving slower than it actually was when measuring skid marks and overall stopping distance. I almost had a state trouper rear end me recently when I thought I was breaking smoothly and he was about to pile into my ass because he couldn't stop in nearly the distance. If you just compared weight and stopping length it would suggest I was moving slower even though we were at the same speed. He left skid marks both inside and outside his car and he wasn't very happy when he walked up to write me a ticket for no front plate. Had I really jammed on them (without skidding) he'd be buying me a new car right about now. He accused me of fcuking with him when I was driving the car normally.

 

I'm glad you told the bitch to STFU, I've live'd in Austin for 20 years, I love the town but sometimes all the self-righteous liberal crap around here gets to me. You must have been near the Apple store.

That's not something you'd find. Look at the photos of the white LP that just crashed. Notice the intact passenger compartment after a 45 MPH crash. There are other sites such as WreckedExotics and if you Google the term it should come up. Many of the photos don't give you the speeds and in numerous cases, the speeds are extremely high. One point of deception is that with the ceramic brakes, they stop in a hurry and often provide misleading data suggesting the car was driving slower than it actually was when measuring skid marks and overall stopping distance. I almost had a state trouper rear end me recently when I thought I was breaking smoothly and he was about to pile into my ass because he couldn't stop in nearly the distance. If you just compared weight and stopping length it would suggest I was moving slower even though we were at the same speed. He left skid marks both inside and outside his car and he wasn't very happy when he walked up to write me a ticket for no front plate. Had I really jammed on them (without skidding) he'd be buying me a new car right about now. He accused me of fcuking with him when I was driving the car normally.

Interesting. I never thought of that aspect of the carbon ceramic brakes. Has a test comparison ever been done to determine the measuring distance or distance traveled between the two types of braking systems? Also I had someone tell me it was illegal in Ca to drive with a child in the front seat, even if there was no back seat. I thought all that was needed was to turn off the passenger air bag.

It is not illegal to have a child seat in a 2 seater in California. As long as you can turn off the passenger airbag the car is not unsafe to have a child in. Like others said, the car is designed to keep occupants safe in high speed collisions.

I always took my kids around in the car, I have a similar Recaro child seat, airbag off and off we went, they absolutely love it, I would've argue with the women the fact that your car goes from 0-60-0 faster than her crap box would go from 0-60.

One bit of advice, I think you should try to be as polite as you can, these bastards can always go back and key your car or cause other sorts of malicious damage, better safe than sorry.

One of the things I would be worried about, if I was to drive with my babies in the Lambo, would be being hit by a SUV and having it go over the car.

 

I never owned a SUV before but I got one for transporting my kids. I figured bigger and higher was better for my kids safety. I could be wrong, but I feel pretty confident about crashes with the GL550.

I believe the steel and the ceramic brakes stop in the same distance. The ceramic don't fade, however all that being said, the ceramic are a lot more grabby so you tend to stop a hell of a lot faster, and sometimes sooner than expected. It takes a while to get the hang of it.

No kids but I would take my nephew out in the Diablo at some point (he's only 7 months now so that's not happening haha) but i'd do the same as you did, very casual driving. You could be out in a normal car with him in the backseat and still get into a terrible accident so there is always a risk, lambo or not

She's talking out her chunky ass. The fact is that Lamborghinis are designed to crash at high speeds and still allow the occupants to walk away. She was probably driving a Kia that by comparison explodes on impact. If you were driving safely, you were not likely putting your kid in any high risk situation. I'd feel safer in a Lamborghini than I would feel in most cars.

i know already said, but i think tommy summed it up well

I told her to mind her own business and get back to consuming.

 

I died laughing when I read this. Funny thing is, if you actually told her that, she would not know what the fcuk you are talking about. Listen, Joe, your kids are safe as anything in the front of that car. As Tommy has said numerous times, that car handles impact at much higher speeds. It is tested just like any other car is before it comes into the country. It gets every angle, numerous hits, off center hits and different bumper heights too. The airbag is the killer for a small child. Since the Lambo, since 2002 with the Murci and 04 with the Gallardo, allows you to kill the bag you are good to go. The only caveat I would see if taking an infant that requires a rear facing seat. Even then you are likely ok. Hell, the car has LATCH built in to the passenger seat. Just remember this, when we were kids we rode in our parents laps and laid down in the back seats with no seat belts on. We are infinitely more safe today than we ever have been, I am sure that your precious cargo would be just fine. Tell the lady to shut her blow hole.

I died laughing when I read this. Funny thing is, if you actually told her that, she would not know what the fcuk you are talking about. Listen, Joe, your kids are safe as anything in the front of that car. As Tommy has said numerous times, that car handles impact at much higher speeds. It is tested just like any other car is before it comes into the country. It gets every angle, numerous hits, off center hits and different bumper heights too. The airbag is the killer for a small child. Since the Lambo, since 2002 with the Murci and 04 with the Gallardo, allows you to kill the bag you are good to go. The only caveat I would see if taking an infant that requires a rear facing seat. Even then you are likely ok. Hell, the car has LATCH built in to the passenger seat. Just remember this, when we were kids we rode in our parents laps and laid down in the back seats with no seat belts on. We are infinitely more safe today than we ever have been, I am sure that your precious cargo would be just fine. Tell the lady to shut her blow hole.

 

One of the things I would be worried about, if I was to drive with my babies in the Lambo, would be being hit by a SUV and having it go over the car.

 

I never owned a SUV before but I got one for transporting my kids. I figured bigger and higher was better for my kids safety. I could be wrong, but I feel pretty confident about crashes with the GL550.

 

Amazingly they seem to hold up well with cars/suv's sitting on them... Not that I would want to ever see or try it but rest assured in most Lamborghini crash pictures I have seen the cars have held up well.

 

The same thing happened to me one day at a red light, lady said "nice car, but are you stupid?" she said "it was dangerous to have a kid in the front seat." If I was thinking I should have said that it was more dangerous to put him in the back!

 

My boy has been in the car since he was 2 months old rear facing (air bags off, child clips in place) In Canada probably simular to USA a car cannot be sold new without ALL laws being met. Hence why we have air bag switches and child seat hooks on the passenger seat. I actually feel sorry for all the other Lamborghini owners that have those hidious hooks visable on their cars.

 

Anyways IMO most people feel it is more dangerous as it is always recommended to put the child in the rear seat, most don't think about two seaters. And as I recall in the my Lamborghini the sun visor states that it is recommended that the child be in the back seat, I'm still looking for mine and until then I'll put my boy in the front with the air bag off. If the government didn't think it was safe the hooks and switch wouldn't be offered.

 

He loves ever minute of it and I'm not taking that away from him, as he would say "ride in dadys ghini!!)

 

My boy at two months...

 

 

I was in Mexico a few weeks back and in the back of the pickup there was a lady sitting on a lawn chair breast feeding her baby, she was by far the safest of the bunch as she had a chair to sit on the others were sitting on the floor of the truck bed. WTF!!

 

 

lol that murci, used to belong to roy catz, here in seattle

My kids normally drive around with the doors up.