Cars conversation questions

Cars

 * What make of car do you drive?
 * How much fuel does it consume?
 * How many cars have you had?
 * What's the best car you've ever had/driven? Why?
 * What's your favourite car advertisement? What happens in it? Why do you like it?
 * What's your favourite car? Why do you like it?
 * Can you think of any memorable car advertisements? Why are they memorable?
 * Do men and women prefer to drive different cars? Why?
 * What's your favourite colour car? What is your least favourite colour?
 * What do you think of really big cars like the Hummer?
 * What are the advantages of driving a very big car?
 * What do you think of city cars such as the Ford KA and the Smart? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of such a small car?

Cars and the environment

 * Should cars be banned from city centres/downtowns? What do you think the effects of such a ban would be?
 * How much more would you be prepared to pay for an environmentally-friendly car?
 * Would you like to own a hybrid or electric car?

Car security

 * What are your feelings about car alarms? Which annoys you most: car thieves or car alarms?
 * What is the best security device you can fit to your car?
 * Do you have a remote locking device? Some people claim they are easy to hijack - what do you think?
 * Have you ever had your car stolen? What happened?

Car safety

 * Do you always wear seat belts? Why/why not?
 * Should people be required to wear seat belts in the back seat? Do you ever wear a seat belt in the back seat? In a taxi?
 * What's the correct action to take if your car begins to skid? Has your car ever entered a skid? Did you manage to control it?
 * Have you ever been in a car accident, or seen one happen?
 * Have you ever had a blowout (when a tyre bursts while driving)?
 * What should you do if your car starts to aquaplane?
 * Should people speak on mobile phones while driving? Are hands free systems really "hands free"?
 * How often do you see people driving and talking on the mobile?
 * What do you think of the practice of smoking whilst driving?
 * What do you think the punishment should be for drink driving?
 * Do you think that motorbikes are more dangerous than cars? Why?
 * Which do you think is safer: travelling by plane or by car?
 * Do you think 4&times;4 vehicles are safer than others? Safer for whom?

Driving

 * Should you slam on the brakes if you see black ice?
 * Do you ever overtake on the wrong side (undertake) on motorways? What is your opinion of this manoeuvre?
 * What do you listen to when you are driving? What do you think of the idea of practising English while driving?
 * If you are a passenger, how do you keep yourself occupied on long road trips?
 * Do you always obey the speed limits? Why/why not?
 * Should there be more speed cameras on motorways? Why/why not?
 * Have you ever been in a car race? Would you like to take part in one?  Why/why not?
 * Have you ever suffered from or seen examples of “road rage”? What happened?

Car insurance

 * How did you decide what type of insurance to take out?
 * Have you ever had to make any type of insurance claim? What was the procedure? Was it simple or easy?
 * If you damaged another vehicle while parking would you leave a note with your details? Have you ever done this?
 * Car insurance can be expensive and in some countries the number of drivers without insurance is considerable. What do you think the penalties should be for driving without valid insurance?

Car accidents

 * Have you ever had an accident? Was it a minor one or was it serious? What happened?
 * What should you do if you have an accident? What steps should you follow?
 * What should you do if a motorist is injured inside a vehicle after a car accident? What if the car was on fire?

Future cars
Consider the following possible improvements and classify them as follows: A. Already available and/or technologically possible; B. Possible and desirable; C. Possible but not desirable; and D. Impossible to implement. Give reasons.


 * Cars fitted with an “alco-lock” which will not start if the driver is over the legal limit.
 * Cars fitted with GPS technology to identify speeding cars and either slow them down or automatically fine the driver.
 * Ventilation in car boots which would ensure that anyone trapped in the boot would have enough air to breathe.
 * Satellite and chip technology which would find and remotely jam the engines of stolen cars.
 * Cars which would read road markings to correct alignment if the car drifts into the wrong lane.
 * Technology which ensures the driver keeps a safe distance from the vehicle in front.
 * Changes to car design which would reduce the top speed at which a car could be driven.
 * Specially designed animal seatbelts to restrain dogs and cats carried in cars.
 * The introduction of "black box"-style information recorders that could be used in crash investigations. These would record things such as what signals the driver had given, how long he had been on the road and what speed he had been driving.
 * Technology which would ensure that a car could not be driven if the motorist were not insured or the vehicle were not taxed.
 * Emergency ejector seats which the motorist could use to escape in an extreme emergency.
 * Technology which would immobilise the car if any of the passengers were not wearing seatbelts.
 * Self-driving cars