Nitro boosters can be killers, warns AA

Apr 8 2009 Steve Hughes

Nitro boosters can be killers, warns AA

YOUNG drivers are putting lives at risk by using nitrous oxide to boost the performance of their cars by up to four times, even though the brakes and other vital components can not handle the extra power.

The AA says it is severely concerned that using nitrous oxide systems on street cars is becoming more and more popular.

Some new drivers look to nitrous oxide as a way of getting huge power gains with low cost. Suppliers claim it can provide four times the power of a turbo charger.

Every year 500 car occupants between 16 and 24 years-old are killed in car crashes. These crashes involve multiple deaths and a single car leaving the road, with inexperience being a major factor.

Artificially boosting the power of a car engine often pushes both the driver and the car beyond their limitations.

AA president Edmund King, says: "Inexperienced new drivers can not cope with a car that is modified to give three times as much power that they were designed to handle.

``Small cars, some boosted with three times more power, can not cope because it exceeds the ability of the brakes, tyres, road-holding and the in-built safety protection.

'If this becomes widespread, hundreds of lives could be put at risk by nitrous oxide modifications. The best place for these car modifications is on the race track rather than the public highway.''

The AA Charitable Trust is now offering free driver training to new drivers most at risk.

Details are available at www.theAA.com/drive-smart

New Driver Fact File