Smart Car Demo?

[Double A]

I wish they would make kei class mini trucks & vans street legal in Oklahoma.

[Ed W]

I get that one a lot too.  "Someone's gonna run over you on that bah-cycle!"  Actually, I think motorists are more of a danger to each other since they manage to kill about 42,000 per year as opposed to 800 cyclists - half of them children.

But since limited access roads are some of the safest, it makes little sense to decry small, light vehicles like Smartcars mixed in with heavier ones there.  The biggest problems occur at intersections on city streets, where big-and-heavy enjoys a kinetic energy advantage over small-and-light.

Every problem has a solution.  In this case, it's reducing the energy in crashes by reducing velocity.  In the UK, there's a proposal to reduce the speed limit in all urban areas to no more than 20mph.  I'm told that in Japan, it's already lower than that.  Besides the obvious savings in energy costs, there's reduced impact in crashes making them more survivable for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.  It also reduces noise level and the stress of 'normal' city traffic, leading to more liveable cities.

I like the idea.