Risk vs Reward when Driving Fast 

Big power = big responsibility

My colleagues at work don't understand why I keep my MX-5... It's a 25-year-old, not particularly fast, small and petite roadster. But I am in the privileged situation that my 32 km commute to work is mostly on beautiful German country roads, with sharp bends, few traffic and with roundabouts where you can easily maintain 50 km/h and just blast trough them. And you can drive like Ayrton Senna and save fuel at the same time, because you're driving efficiently with really low risk.

BRO BIG CONGRATS ON THE M2

Refreshing to see another car enthusiast that actually understands the etiquette of driving fast in the right time and place. Rather than most these days that speed around in carparks and 30 limits like clowns

Thank you Mick. I am 18 years old and got a license 5 months ago. Your videos are teaching me a lot of useful things, and this video in particular about risk to reward made made me think a lot about past drives. It will definitely change the way I drive. Please keep making more videos teaching things, they are very useful. Love from Italy.

It’s tricky. You will notice that other road users change their behaviour based on the car you drive. The amount of Golf R’s or M140i’s that, see my car, then display the most erratic and dangerous behaviour. Sometimes it’s very tempting to do something equally as stupid and dangerous……..because you are in a quick car. I’ve had a country road crash a few years ago by being egged on by a fast car behind me and me completely misreading the road and conditions. That’s always in the back of my mind now.

I bought an fairly fast car at 18 and my parents got me an on road driving experience with an ex Porsche test driver. Once of the things that he said that stuck was 'Imagine there is a motorbike rider that has had an accident around every corner' and it has stuck ever since.

I'm so glad I'm not the only person in this world preaching risk awareness and safe fun at reasonable pace. Something I tend to preach is enjoyment as a group. I go out with my buddies and we'll essentially stay in a group voice chat and take turns up and down a stretch of road with one of us parked at each end. That way we can keep each other safe, keep the public safe, and still have fun.

You know, a lot of people *poke fun at this channel in the shorts’ comments, but I hope that every 14/15/16 year old, who is interested learning to drive, finds this channel. I’ve been driving since I was 10, 20 years now, and even though a lot of the things are second nature to me, I still pick up many gems. You may want to consider being a driving instructor as a business. Not even joking.

14:55 Exactly why I absolutely love those sporty kei cars to bits! You can just floor it up through the gears without even breaking the speed limit, all the while you could be convinced you're going a lot faster than you actually are!

This is a really, very good video, especially for younger enthusiastic drivers. Too many young men die in cars with no other vehicle involving. Additional note, always look for the road signs and line markings.

send it but don't end it

An even better low risk/ high reward is a track day. Better than driving like a racing driver on a public road.

Finally somebody with understanding and true wisdom on such an important subject.

That road is god tier and I’m glad I showed it you ngl

This is a great video. None petrolheads would prefer everyone drives at 28mph everywhere in silent cars (EV's) because why would anyone want to go any faster right ? The truth is, some of us really enjoy driving, and it is simply not practical to expect us to only ever have fun on a track day. So, it is up to the responsible petrolheads to find roads that are empty, where we can have fun without putting anyone else at risk, or annoying any other drivers. Nice car sir, I have the OG M2.

Really appreciate how your raw passion and enjoyment for driving comes through in these videos. I do go for higher power cars nowadays (had a 140 and now an S5) as they are genuinely more fun, but the first 70% of enjoyment basically can be achieved with any car. My 1.2 Fiat Punto I bought at 18 was when I fell in love with driving, and you would have to fight that to get up to 60 on straights.

I don't think I've ever had a Mick Drives Cars video come up on my youtube feed and not instantly clicked it 👍

You should make a RU-vid series on advanced driving lessons. Its actually surprising so few people know how to downshift in a non-revmatching manual properly without jerks. Like yesterday I senta friend your lotus video and she pointed out that you revved the engine before releasing the clutch while downshifting. And i was like you didn't know that?. These tricks may feel like petty normal to us enthusiasts but many normal people don't know about all this. Even I learn something new everytime I see videos like yours on RU-vid and also irl from other people.

Got my license in 2021 and after plenty of fines, a national speed awareness course, and 3 points on my record, this is all I do now and nothing more. Pleased to say that this risk to reward mentality has translated to more comfortable and fuel efficient driving too. Great video Mick! Subscribed.

The fisheye perspective of the fancy BM is actually so satisfying

As someone who's relatively new to driving (coming on 4 years) these videos are incredibly informative and entertaining, and I imagine anyone else who's looking to unlock the full potential of fun in their cars feel the same. Congrats on the M2! 🔥

The things I did notice were junctions where the view was restricted for emerging traffic. There were a warning signs for deer which can be a factor particularly during dawn and dusk. There was a further warning for pedestrians using the road there's no footpath. I agree, you can have a great drive on roads like that as long as you pay attention, plan ahead and drive at an appropriate speed for the traffic, road conditions and potential hazards. Other could include farm vehicles, cattle, sheep and horses. The best fun you can have in a car is a track day. I'm planning on going to my first one soon with expert tuition and track day insurance. That way you can experience your car in a relatively safe environment. Especially, when you compare it to a public road.

The fun of driving is mostly the acceleration you feel and angular speed of image in your eyes, so you propose to drive in a visually narrow street. But for me it's a riskable place, bc if a drunk pedestrian or a kid appears from a corner, you have no time to manage it.

Refreshing to see such content, the man seems genuinely interested in doing some good. I own the same car and I got into a little accident about a week ago, and looking back, the reward would have been minimal, yet the risk was huge. I’ll 100% remember this driving when my car gets out of the shop….. probably next month..😅

Without this video I wouldn't be able to drive fast.

Thank you, Mick, your previous videos were the bridge to me being able to drive fast with confidence and in right way after getting my license. Only 1 advice of yours that's left for me to try is drive on a track, but unfortunately there isn't many tracks in the region I live. I hope to do that soon.

So happy to seen the channel had grown. Early viewer here. Quality content as always mick

As a new driver I'm still getting used to things but I couldn't agree with you more Picked up a 1.4L Mini One, it may not be that fast but at the right time, in the right place, such as low traffic country roads I've been having a blast deploying what it has I feel the same way as you, no need to break any limits, no need to take unnecessary risks, just dropping a gear or two when the opportunity presents itself and it's safe to do so then enjoing the car Those kind of roads are the most fun I've had so far and that little Mini gives me enough for plenty of enjoyment

Have fun + be respectful to others + understand that u might hurt others with high risk. I rly see that u are a good and experienced driver that knows what he is doing.❤❤❤

Risk is the lowest on a motorway and the highest on a rural road due to the lack of central reservation

M2... nice af. Hope you're enjoying it. Great video as always Mick

I am kind of the enjoys fast in a straight line but I enjoy the corners more, but I'll try to be more like you. I like being first at the lights so I can zoom off and enjoy a clear bit of road. But patience and understanding is key and I think you have the right attitude. I certainly don't see the point of speeding through car parks and residential streets when it's busy and people are out. I had a child step out in front of me while I was doing the speedlimit or just under in morning rush hour and it gave me the fright of my life. Luckily I reacted quickly enough and wasn't distracted by anything, and my brakes were powerful enough. But it is something I'm not likely to forget.

Absolutely love your videos mate, I'm only 19 but still very intersted in cars but I just don't get people who speed everywhere. Like you I'd much rather have an empty b road to myself! I also love seeing how smooth I can drive, harsh braking & flooring it is too much work for the public roads lmao. Since I drive a turbo diesel I have to keep it in a happy rev range for any power which keeps me engaged with the car & subconciously aware of my speed by what gear I'm in & know when to naturally let off. I'll take smooth over speed anyday of the week. Also enjoy the M2, It's an amazing car!

For me, in addition to your 'learn the car and increase your technical skills' there's also reward / joy in driving in the city where I need full attention, and my game is to notice as early as possible someone who wants to join my lane of traffic so that I can slow down queue behind me (if the traffic is dense) and let them in so they don't die of waiting. Or waving to pedestrians while slowing down so they don't have to wait until I fully stop, and I then don't have to stop, and we both smile to each other - win-win :) I really love giving pedestrians right of way. So it stresses me a lot when they just suddenly change direction and want to cross immediately and I have to slam the breaks or I can't safely stop. :/ Or when cyclists just run from whichever direction without looking. Eye contact makes things so much much easier. The most boring thing for me are highways - usually nothing nice to look around, no problem solving situations / when to be on alert. Even rush hour stop-go traffic is more interesting 😆

Got to thank you Mick. Specifically for having a proper gearbox. I don't get autos or stupid flappy paddles, and that is doubled in a car designed to be "driven" . Good advice on the risk/reward lesson. I just think it's a shame it needs saying. It should all be part of the test, as should understanding limits and what to do if you make a mistake or are forced into trouble.

Nice vid mate - some great advice there. Enjoyed it as always

I like how you pin where the Reward point and the Risk point are set, as a young driver the video helps to manage where to speed and what the risk and responsibilty it will take but, as driver with lower expiriance the best is to drive slow in city and on some backroad you can have some expriance, but whitin the limit of the car, road, and risk, be safe guys peace.

I live in Germany and I have to say that our roads seem a lot more fun. Lots of high reward completely empty, twisty country roads with smooth surfaces, great visibility and no line in the middle (racing line => legal). I don't have an M2 but pushing my Opel Astra to the limit feels fantastic anyway.

i still cant get over how good the new m2 looks to drive!

Huge congrats on M2! Love them manual, enjoy it❤

First time viewer enjoyed the video and for some reason the way you was describing your driving in the medium risk section of the video cracked me up 😂

been here since 5k, only getting bigger 💯💯

great vid, i only drive my x4m fast during night 1-3 am is the best time, during day i find it too stressfull at night you can easly see cars coming from the headlights

This channel should be studied as part of the national driving license

Ive got a 1.2 Polo 70BHP 2008. Its not fast, but boy when you take it onto B roads, and ur going round corners, breaking, rev matching, going up to the red line, feeling the slight amount of g force, all while doing 50, and the car is screaming like ur doing 1000 🤣. Don't like to break the speed limit, but I enjoy myself :). Great video btw, u got a sub :)

Haven't even watched it yet but im sure it's gonna be great💪😎

you know what the funny thing about this is, UK's medium risk is actually High Risk road in India but we treat it as Low risk and that is why there are so many accidents taking place.

The one thing I would say about early morning driving is that you're much more likely to spook a dear and have it run into the road by being the only loud engine at that time. At least at midday there is a constant noise of other cars on the road so the animals know where NOT to go.

Well explained mate, this should be seen by any young drivers that have only donuts and speeding in their heads.

Just noticed this is in telford ive started looking through all your videos and i recognise pretty much every road I live in brudgnorth

I can tell you love your car 😂 Huge congrats!

Would love to see more people with sport car and your mindset. A lot of people think that they always need to go fast to justify their purchase for a sport car.

Got a motorbike, the rewarding roads got much more abundant and closer to home. 👍🏍

Awesome video! Once I started following your channel I realised how much more I’ve got to learn about driving. Keep up the good work 🎉

I love this content, please keep it up mate!

nice M2, lovely update

As a 29 year old guy who loves fast cars, motorsport, extreme sports and used to own an m235i bmw. Just stick to the Fing speed limit. It’s all fun and games until someone’s dead. I know a guy that’s just been convicted of death by dangerous driving and it could have just as easily been myself as a youngster. If you want to drive fast, go to a track day.

Hey Mick, glad to se you enjoying your new car, I'm proud of what you have acomplished this year. Can you make a vide "Few things you don't understand about driving in a hot weather" Like how it affects car, road, tires?

Risk management is very much a part of every good driver's thought process when driving. That said, this is an example of a very safety-biased risk management with a result that reads: "you can only have fun on an empty, windy road that you can't really drive over the speed limit on anyway" - which means you can only have fun driving when you intend to have fun, with lots of prep and planning and never on the go. I'll agree though that driving fast in a straight line isn't fun - unless you're doing 140+ MPH on an almost empty highway 😉

5minutes in and loving this, your doing realy well i think you will hit 100k subs in no time.

Congratulations i am happy for you! Great video as usual.

Swiftly became my favorite driving channel

I agree with everything you said. However you are lucky to live in a country and area to get country back roads where the speed limit is 100 km/h. You can have fun in a legal way. I live in Belgium (Flanders) and it's very difficult to find these kinds of roads, and even if you find them, the speed limit is often 50 or 70 km/h... Speed limits make no sense at all here. So you gotta start being illegal to have some fun, and that's a shame (also very high risk always, because we have speed cameras absolutely everywhere)

A man of culture

great vid, love the M2. Are you still in the break in period or did you get it with some miles already on?

Great video. You definitely have to have the right mindset to drive fast cars on a public roads. Driving lower hp cars and carrying momentum is one thing but when you start getting past 300bhp and you can go as fast as you want almost anywhere, it takes more discipline to remain "safe".

Hello, what camera are you using in the pov of the bmw and where do you set it up? (example 5:46) , thanks and love you content!

Hi, a video on double clutching would be interesting.

i like how you think and i like how you are trying to predict a lot of things and i tought that owerthinking that much was some type of adhd or something but im doing that too and now i see that i actually should do it

Thank you for yet another nice video! This is actually exactly what I do when driving, trying to always, almost consciously, estimate this risk/reward ratio (a reason why I'm not a talker when driving ahah) A totally car-unrelated question. I like your videos also because I like your English (I'm a non-native English speaker, of course) - very understandable and your somewhat refined way of speaking. I'm wondering : do you have a particular British accent ?

Hi, love your content! May I ask, what tires have you got on this car? Thanks

Have you ever had any near misses or near wipe outs when on a spirited drive? Would be interesting to hear those stories

Ok this completes changed my perspective damn I have been an idiot in the past

Haha the pull at 15:40. I had (totalled in a pile up) an 8gen civic. I could do that type of pull if there was no one behind while staying safe and under the limit. I’d slow down a bit first, make space and catch up. The bigger the power the bigger the responsibility.

Great video! Love seeing you rip up B roads

I often drive like this Got 95% 80kmh road with some roundabouts and no pedestrians on my daily commute Sometimes leave work around midnight and then its just great to blast through those roundabouts and corners Can reach double the limit but there is just noone there If im on a roadtrip and visit unfamilliar cities i dont speed, im just going with the rest of the traffic often slower

Learning to read the road is key in reducing risk. Good observation certainly helps with this; however, whilst you may know a road you cannot know what’s on it or how others will use it. The consistent key of safe performance driving is to drive to what you can see and anticipate. Don’t forget that the most severe injuries occur on your low risk - high reward road Mick. A quick thought, if your changing gear during your overtake could this tell you something about your planning and could you tweak your approach to lower your risk whilst increasing your reward? Lovely to see the BMW getting some excercise. .

I cannot understand how you say the road in minute 6:00 is low risk, when on a great part of the road you showed you only have a couple hundred meters of clear visibility and cyclists can be hiding behind a turn, as seen around minute 7:00. If you were driving real fast in a car like yours in that road and a couple of cyclists in parallel showed after a turn, you would have very little to no time to react. Yes, you say you keep mental note of the cyclists, but that stretch of road has several houses and intersections from which a cyclist which you did not consider could come up to the road. I advise of this danger because it has happened to me. A very, VERY important thing to keep in mind when driving fast is not only where, but WHEN. I have found that the best time is either in the morning exactly at sunrise (to have some visibility) or during the lunch hour(s) (whichever are in your country), specially during summer. Night driving is also great because you avoid cyclists, but you can run into animals. Also, driving fast on very twisty roads at night can be quite challenging (dangerous) if you don't know the road by heart. Obviously, the WORST time is Sunday morning and Friday/Saturday afternoon, as well as any bank holiday. The best roads are MOUNTAIN roads, with NO intersections, good asphalt, at least some barriers and just before sunrise or during lunch hours, when no cyclists are around. And obviously roads that see little to no traffic. Those are the only kind of roads where I feel safe enough to drive pedal to the metal. I might be a bit picky. I really enjoy driving fast, but I really don't want to be in the situation of having an accident with a cyclist or other highly vulnerable road user.

Ride only on well know roads and do a pre-check - as Mick explained - first go - you are looking for traps - after that enjoying a car.

Great message, great video. Again. When I heard at first you want to buy a M2 I was exited but expected you to buy the one with an automatic gearbox like the Renault had. Luckily, you did not. Then I saw the Interieur in your first video and was not sure about the two maybe to big displays had just been put in "small" the car. What was your first impression about it? But now I like the contrast between the colours, especially red and blue in the cockpit. Also love the performance. Greetings from a Bavarian car enthusiast.

this video will probably save some families

Very informative video! 👍

Nice. Good to see you enjoying the new car. Curious that you don't signal the overtakes. I would be interested in a video on speed enforcement where, when and how and if you use or consider counter measures.

I invite you to Croatia :) It has a lot of low speed (with 50-60km/h limits, but people usually drive at 80 on those) roads with a lot of bends and elevation changes, with beautiful scenery, but also high speed (130 limit, but a lot of people do 150 and more, because cameras are rare, traffic is very light, and Police is quite rare as well) roads / highways(?) that are also bendy with high speed in mind. Best driving experience after Germany Autobahns, but in Germany those roads are busy quite a lot, and in Croatia they are often almost empty.

Mick .. great driving

cutting up the 110 in LA>>>>

9:01 is what I do in my BMW😜 on the country side roads, the pull is insane. 👌🍻

This is why I think having power actually lends itself to safer driving. I have an MX-5 and you really need to wring the hell out of that car, which is part of its charm, but it puts me in a more aggressive headspace. I'd prefer it if I could tap into 400 hp on occasion rather than fight for my life with 100 hp just to keep up with traffic. (Should point out that I live a mile above sea level, so 100 hp naturally aspirated really is fighting for my life.)

Nice attitude towards other road users.

7:12 this is what rally teams do to prepare their pacenotes before fully sending it on the actual stage.

Watching the low risk part at 2x so that it feels equally riskier

Big car upgrade, I thought that was Telford town centre recognised it, where is that road in Shropshire

just yesterday i was having some fun in some very low risk country backroads and unfortunately a cop got to me 🤣hefty ticket for sure

Wasn’t expecting a manual. I thought the UK didn’t have access to the base G8X. So I presumed this was a competition based off the thumbnail 😅

Question from someone who was born and raised in Germany and is used to driving fast on the Autobahn: Would you consider such a thing responsible? Is the risk-reward balance appropriate? Cause it´s perfectly legal, you won´t get a ticket, so the argument from 2:45 doesn´t apply. And there are indeed very few accidents on the Autobahn. But that doesn´t change anything about the fact that you´re going 200 kilometers per hour (130 mph). What would you say about that? Btw, keep going with these educational videos! You are creating better drivers all around the globe and quite literally saving lives!

Great video! Everyone should see it so they know how to better manage their risks and not take stupid ones, would do wonders! I also enjoy the turns and so I bought an mx5 nd, and that way I dont have the risk of getting speed tickets ahahaha! Enjoy your car what a machine!

So nice to see your m2 (and you) just dusting as you overtake. Better than the Megan for sure. The sound!!

watching this while drifting through the city in my car makes me stop my car and slow down!

Really nice and useful video!