The British media have been reporting this week the inquest into the sad death in her G-Wiz EV of Dr Judit Nadal, a successful and much loved biochemist who worked at Imperial College, London. A verdict of accidental death was recorded following the news that she was on her mobile phone and not wearing a seat belt and had made a fatal error in turning into an oncoming car's path at a known traffic blackspot in London.
Dr Nadal's G-Wiz was struck by a larger and heavier Skoda Octavia and a few journalists have raised concerns that the G-Wiz is an unsafe vehicle because as a quadricycle it lacks the safety levels present in conventional M1 cars. What was not reported (and in order to to provide a context for consideration of the safety issue) is that this tragic event was the first known fatality or serious injury in a G-Wiz over a ten year period in more than 180 million km of customer driving in 20 countries; or that quadricycles (the G-Wiz is classified as a L7e quadricycle and not a full M1 conventional car and not subject to the same safety requirements) have a superior accident record to conventional cars, because of the limited speeds of the vehicles and the slower urban roads on which they are driven.
Dr Nadal's G-Wiz was struck by a larger and heavier Skoda Octavia and a few journalists have raised concerns that the G-Wiz is an unsafe vehicle because as a quadricycle it lacks the safety levels present in conventional M1 cars. What was not reported (and in order to to provide a context for consideration of the safety issue) is that this tragic event was the first known fatality or serious injury in a G-Wiz over a ten year period in more than 180 million km of customer driving in 20 countries; or that quadricycles (the G-Wiz is classified as a L7e quadricycle and not a full M1 conventional car and not subject to the same safety requirements) have a superior accident record to conventional cars, because of the limited speeds of the vehicles and the slower urban roads on which they are driven.
- Quadricycles, also known as microcars, exist in a continuum of vehicles. They offer customers a vehicle that is safer than a motorbike or scooter and in the case of electric quadricycles, more affordable than a conventional electric car (the G-Wiz is one third of the price of a Mitsubishi imiev, for example). In addition to being zero emission at the tailpipe and extremely low cost to operate, the G-Wiz is small, lightweight and nimble and so is easy to drive and to park. In traffic congested central London, where the average speeds are about 10 to 15 mph and most speed limits 30 mph, there are approximately 1,000 G-Wiz used on a daily basis resulting in a small but loyal following. G-Wiz drivers are fully aware that they are driving a vehicle in which they are less protected than if driving a conventional car.
Quadricycles are quite a common sight in some European cities, with approximately 400,000 on the streets of Western Europe, particularly in France and Italy. If anything, the category is about to become more popular because automakers see it as a potential growth segment. Renault are launching the Twizy quadricycle in 2012, whilst VW and Audi are showcasing single and two seat urban EV concepts at the forthcoming Frankfurt Show.
Quadricycles are quite a common sight in some European cities, with approximately 400,000 on the streets of Western Europe, particularly in France and Italy. If anything, the category is about to become more popular because automakers see it as a potential growth segment. Renault are launching the Twizy quadricycle in 2012, whilst VW and Audi are showcasing single and two seat urban EV concepts at the forthcoming Frankfurt Show.
The last government announced an intention to review quadricycles on the grounds of safety, following a government crash test of a G-Wiz to M1 safety standards (which it failed, unsurprisingly, and which led to the development of an improved safety cage for the current model). There were calls then from Labour politicians to ban quadricycles, leading to an equally vociferous defence from now London Mayor, Boris Johnson. My own position is that I support any constructive review of safety - but I do not see the point of a witch hunt to ban quadricycles which does not consider all the facts.
The existing L7e quadricycle regulations limit the vehicle weight to 450 kg excluding batteries, which effectively limits the safety level that can be achieved in the vehicle. One option - which I have called for elsewhere in this blog - might be to increase the existing 450 kg limit to say 650 kg excluding batteries, which would enable additional safety features to be incorporated into the vehicle and using the latest technologies, to achieve a target NCAP safety level of 4*. I am not alone in calling for such a move - Professor Gordon Murray of Gordon Murray Design has called for a new category of 'Urban M1', which would focus automakers on small, lightweight, safe and energy efficient vehicles suitable for everyday commuting.
- Our challenge is to ensure that vehicle safety is optimised whatever the category. We must design the regulations correctly to enable and ensure that manufacturers build vehicles with appropriate levels of safety given the state of technology at any given time and with due regard to usage and affordability. In other words, let's reform the quadricycle regulations by all means, but let's approach such a move without the mass of emotion swirling around a single event.
As the former Managing Director of GoinGreen, I launched the G-Wiz and was almost certainly head of the company when Dr Nadal purchased hers. Her death has touched everyone involved in the business past and present. I hope that any debate can be constructive and undertaken with the aim of creating a category of safe, energy efficient and affordable electric vehicles.
Let us also remember that it is heavy, large, energy wasteful cars marketed for their excessive speed or size and which perpetuate dangerous or careless driving, that are the real problem here.
Let us also remember that it is heavy, large, energy wasteful cars marketed for their excessive speed or size and which perpetuate dangerous or careless driving, that are the real problem here.
