I mean.....damn, where does the madness end.....all the cars are going to look the same (tall hood section, lower fenders..Dodge Ram style...see new Hondas) and have "external" airbags?!?!

Mom always told me to look both ways before I crossed the street.....



http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102946

 

does that mean we can hit more pedestrians if the cars are safer for them

 

As a driver, pedestrain and a cyclist, here's my no cost solutiuon:

-Cars drive on the road and obey the frickin' traffic laws and speed limits and pay attention to what you are doing.

-Pedestrians walk on the damn sidewalk and cross at the designated crossing points / or use common sense when there isn't one.

-Cyclists obey stop-signs and whatnot and stop thinking (some of you) that you don't have to obey the traffic rules. A red light means you damn well wait like the rest of road users!!!

Sheesh. Are people stupid or what?

 

um, excuse me? i think my cars are super safe, they have plastic front ends (one carbon fiber hood, one fiberglass hood, both plastic bumpers) and gently scoop pedestrians off the road and deposit them to one side, or at least on the dash or center console. in any case, out of harm's way!

edit: both of my cars have nearly-horizontal windshields, so i'm not sure that accidental vehicle entry is a problem either..!

 

Beauracracy and regulation out of control.

I've seen some skecthes over the past year from Europe of how this will/could affect styling. Say goodbye to raked, swoopy hoodlines, hello planklike boxy-ness.

You retro guys outta love it.

 

Apparently in Europe its a very big problem.

 

I think it stems from Europe who started this, and now that companies are going global, designs and engineering are shared.
In Europe, where streets have been the same size since Roman Empire, people walk in the road.

 

Here are the number for Europe and the US:

http://www.driveandstayalive.com/art...urope_2004.htm

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/

Without normalizing the number the problem is twice as large in Europe when compared to the US. I would not expect any US regulation.

I have seen some of the research on this issue and have talked with law enforcment that have investigated pedestrain crashes. This EU regulation appears to be mis-guided. Each crash is so unique the proposed test and countermeasures will have little benefit in the field. I was told by law enforcement that it is their experience most individuals die from head injuries not from the vehicle but from the secondary impact with the street.

I for one hope this does not make it on the books here because it is a waste of money. At least with the current test and countermeasure.

 

You are correct. I just do not expect a regulatory push in the US.

 

Yes, and they are litigious too.

 

Actually, it really is.

When in Europe, you walk EVERYWHERE. People there wlak to the stores, out to eat, to work... everywhere. Cars are used to go to the next town or to haul heavy loads (computers or lots of groceries, etc). It's hard to explain to someone who has never been there.

I took my wife to Coburg Germany for 1 week on vacation this year, and after we parked the car at the hotel, we didn't use it again for over 3 days - no joking. All the restaurants, stores, markets, museums, and such are withing 2-3 miles so you just walk.

All this walking creates pedestrian congestion in the roadways. When 200-300 people are crossing at a major intersection and the light changes, there are almost always stragglers or people in a hurry who don't want to wait for another light-cycle before they cross the road so they come jumping or running into the intersection late. Yes, it is stupid, but it does happen a lot. When you are in your car, it makes you nervous to sit and have people walking all around your car while at a light, and I always just let the car start rolling without applying any throttle while in town in congestion.

It truely is a different world over there - I promise. FAR more pedestrians than car drivers - as opposed to here where there are FAR more car-drivers than pedestrians (except maybe in downtown NYC or Chicago).

 

yea, but as cars become more global, they'll have to make it a consideration..


Actually, its one area where a pushrod V8 engine is a bit better.. since the heads aren't as tall, the engine can sit lower, and give more clearance between the hood and the hard stuff, like the enigne.

Also, rear mounted sports cars don't have too too much to worry about.. Since there's really not much in the front anyways, so there's plenty of crush zone available.

 

Being an individual is a human condition. Individual preferences and choice largely define who we are. The styling of the car I choose to drive expresses who I am to some degree. As do the clothes I wear. Ideally in a free society, there is a balance between allowing individuals to express themselves whilst ensuring that in doing so, no one else is adversly affected; appropriate consequences should follow for the perpertrators of wrong doings. The point is to allow people freedom to choose to do the right thing, thus being *gasp* FREE!

This means for example that if you hit someone while driving recklessly, you personally should suffer a stiff penalty. Why should other drivers be penalized in the slightest because of the actions of some other ***-clown? This of course, assumes that common sense is prevalent and is the underlying rationale underlying our system of government. It's not a perfect system, and yes, criminals and wrong doers sometimes will slip through the cracks, some people will suffer, etc., but it allows us to have free-will within reasonable limits and sure beats a society based on mass conformism and regulation of everything we do. Free will still leaves room for us to improve ourselves and become better at co-existing together without crushing individuality.

Unfortunately, the current trend here (to a degree - the fun police and slavering hungry lawyers are everywhere) and especially in Europe is that slowly but surely, everything is becomming homengenized and 'sanitized' by reducing life to the lowest common denominator; this is orchestrated by folk who think utopia is a place where everyone conforms to a single set of cough, cough "ideals" that somehow protect everyone from anything bad ever happening.
That folks, is not living free by any stretch of the imagination.