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These speed limited vehicles which can't go with the flow in a city are a danger because people will be overtaking, cutting in and generally be annoyed by them.
by aeyes 7y ago
These speed limited vehicles which can't go with the flow in a city are a danger because people will be overtaking, cutting in and generally be annoyed by them. This is already a problem with scooters and some motorbikes.
Cheap vehicles which are limited to 45 km/h have always existed, they were never popular in Europe. Make it 60 and it will be usable for city driving.
- austinjp 7y agoDepends on the city. Also, the scooters and motorbikes might be part of the solution, and larger vehicles part of the problem.
- intopieces 7y agoIn what city is the flow of traffic more the 28mph? This is something for San Francisco, not for jetting between its suburbs.
- briandear 7y agoHouston. San Antonio. Miami. Los Angeles. Omaha. Colorado Springs. Tucson. Las Vegas. Sacramento. Fresno.
- aeyes 7y agoThis product is for the European market, in pretty much every European city traffic flows at these speeds. Maybe not at rush hour but the day has more hours. In Europe cities are small on average and traffic flows ok. Big cities like London, Paris and Berlin are the exception and even there you'll have problems if your vehicles speed is capped at 45km/h.
- asdff 7y agoSan Francisco.
- pkaye 7y agoI'm curious how it will perform on the hills of San Francisco.
- kalleboo 7y agoThere are cities in Europe with 40 km/h speed limits. A bigger problem with these small cars is they lack practicality for bringing more people or luggage, and they're never cheap enough to make up for it when you can just buy a used car.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 7y agoWould work fine in Manhattan too as long as you stay off the FDR. That being said I don't get why they don't make it go up to 40mph. I can't imagine there's much market for this vehicle but I'd be thrilled to be wrong.
- Santas 7y agoVehicles like this one are usually targeted at young people that can't yet get a license for a standard car (usually you need to be 18 in EU), but can get a license for vehicles with max speed of 45km/h from ±15 (depending on country).
- benibela 7y agoOr you could buy a bike
- jsemrau 7y agoThis two-seater would be a solution for many cities in South-East asia. The average traffic speed here is much lower.
- a012 7y agoElectric motorbikes are much cheaper in SEA and can go as fast as this 2 seater car. I'm not sure if this car has air-con and how big is its storage, but it'd not be competitive enough in SEA market.
- oska 7y agoWith encasement of passengers and four wheels this would be safer than a motorbike.
- flyingfences 7y agoOutside of a few first-world countries, safety is rarely the primary concern for people choosing a vehicle.
- chiefalchemist 7y agoPerhaps, but the current "flow" has undesirable side-effect (i.e., pollution and climate change). We're going to have to accept some changes somewhere along the line. We can't keep saying, "No not that" and wonder why nothing is changing.
- ehnto 7y agoPerhaps everyone else is going too fast?
- nradov 7y agoIn the USA there is a special legal category for Neighborhood Electric Vehicles which are limited to 25 mph / 40 kph. They are popular mainly in retirement communities. https://www.thedrive.com/tech/19658/neighborhood-electric-vehicles-a-different-kind-of-electric-car https://www.thedrive.com/tech/19658/neighborhood-electric-ve...
- jdietrich 7y ago>Cheap vehicles which are limited to 45 km/h have always existed, they were never popular in Europe. Aixam microcars are ubiquitous in rural France, providing independence for teenagers and the elderly. The Piaggio Ape is ubiquitous in Italy, providing quick and convenient deliveries in narrow medieval streets. Small, low-powered vehicles have an important role to play in the transport mix. https://www.aixam.com/en/ https://www.aixam.com/en/ http://www.piaggiocommercialvehicles.com/en_EN/models/ape/ http://www.piaggiocommercialvehicles.com/en_EN/models/ape/
- wtmt 7y agoIn India, the average speed of traffic in major cities is anywhere between 5kmph to 15kmph during peak hours (from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., depending on the location, with some lean periods in between). There are electric vehicles (not many) that manage even on stretches with low traffic at comparatively lower speeds. Since being on the road itself is annoying, these extra annoyances add up only a little bit, and won’t be significant in such areas.
- de_watcher 7y agoI've seen that there is already basically the same kind of car being made in India.
- DocG 7y agoThis vehicle seems to be made specially to be under 45km/h limit to not be a car and be a four wheel "scooter" class. In my country (in Europe) they don't have technical inspection, insurance is way cheaper and if born before '91, you don't need any license or don't need full license. I assume the there are also less requirements from manufacture side, that makes it easier and cheaper to produce. If it would be 60km/h you can not make it at this price point, because you are making a full car. And then there is no reason to limit it at all. They are already popular here, where I live and are much similarly priced or even higher because of the lesser requirements for getting around. I can see it as perfect second car for city in my hometown and would buy it.
- jobigoud 7y agoCity driving is limited to 50 km/h in the first place...
- tonyedgecombe 7y agoand decreasing, lots of roads in my nearest city have 20mph limits on them now.