[SystemSafety] Nissan's new Indian car unsafe

[Peter Bernard Ladkin]

On 2014-11-07 21:54 , José Faria wrote:
> Sadly enough, rule of law for some people/organizations seams no more than a getaway for
> tremendously stupid acts.

Personally, I wouldn't rush to judgement on the efficacy of such a (to us) flimsy vehicle.

The most obviously dangerous feature of traffic in many countries is not the construction of the
vehicles but the carefree driving behavior. This is particularly true in this vehicle's target market.

There are plenty of people there whose normal mode of transport for self+spouse+kids+wares+goat is a
small motorcycle. I see many reasons why the occupants would be better off with four wheels instead
of two and minimal shelter from the environment. The goat would likely be happier, and the market
wares stay dry when it rains. If you make the vehicle collision-resistant, then that might well
encourage the driver to be more assertive in the traffic melee (what John Adams calls risk
homeostasis if I remember rightly) and many of them doing it would render the roads even riskier for
pedestrians and two-wheeled-vehicle riders than they are at the moment.

As I think Mike Ellims once wrily noted, it has been suggested that a huge contribution to road
safety anywhere could come from a mandatory sharp spike mounted in the steering wheel pointing right
at the driver! :-)

PBL

Prof. Peter Bernard Ladkin, Faculty of Technology, University of Bielefeld, 33594 Bielefeld, Germany
Tel+msg +49 (0)521 880 7319  www.rvs.uni-bielefeld.de