A Small Car Such As This Should Have Advanced Active Safety Systems

[alfred_chicken]

It seems that engineers have structurally designed the Elio to protect passengers very well. However, the laws of physics cannot be beaten. If a small car hits a large car, the passengers in the small car are more likely to be hurt or killed than the passengers in the large car.

Given this fact, it seems that the Elio should have an option for a forward collision warning system that can automatically apply the brakes if needed. A system like this could also be used to add adaptive cruise control to the car.

Even low-cost cars like the Honda Civic have an option for this type of system. In five years, I am sure that it will be a standard feature on almost all new cars. While I would like to buy an Elio, I think I will hold out until more advanced active safety systems are added.

 

[msmith5150]

The Elio being so lightweight, it would have a tendency to "bounce" away from a collision while leaving the passenger cabin intact. Say my 6000 lb pickup strikes a 1200 lb Elio from pretty much any direction. The Elio is built with a very strong rollcage with front and rear crumple zones and three air bags. My big truck hits that Elio and the air bags deploy surrounding the driver with instant cushioning and the entire vehicle gets pushed away by the force of the truck nearly 6 times the weight.

 

[alfred_chicken]

It might bounce away, but the forces on the passengers in the Elio would be very high.

See here:
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/deskt...results-are-relevant-to-fuel-economy-policies

Relevant text from the above page:
"After striking the front of the C class, the Smart went airborne and turned around 450 degrees. This contributed to excessive movement of the dummy during rebound — a dramatic indication of the Smart's poor performance but not the only one. There was extensive intrusion into the space around the dummy from head to feet. The instrument panel moved up and toward the dummy. The steering wheel was displaced upward. Multiple measures of injury likelihood, including those on the dummy's head, were poor, as were measures on both legs.

"The Smart is the smallest car we tested, so it's not surprising that its performance looked worse than the Fit's. Still both fall into the poor category, and it's hard to distinguish between poor and poorer," Lund says. "In both the Smart and Fit, occupants would be subject to high injury risk in crashes with heavier cars." In contrast, the C class held up well, with little to no intrusion into the occupant compartment. Nearly all measures of injury likelihood were in the good range."

 

[Elio Amazed]

It might bounce away, but the forces on the passengers in the Elio would be very high.

See here:
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/deskt...results-are-relevant-to-fuel-economy-policies

Relevant text from the above page:
"After striking the front of the C class, the Smart went airborne and turned around 450 degrees. This contributed to excessive movement of the dummy during rebound — a dramatic indication of the Smart's poor performance but not the only one. There was extensive intrusion into the space around the dummy from head to feet. The instrument panel moved up and toward the dummy. The steering wheel was displaced upward. Multiple measures of injury likelihood, including those on the dummy's head, were poor, as were measures on both legs.

"The Smart is the smallest car we tested, so it's not surprising that its performance looked worse than the Fit's. Still both fall into the poor category, and it's hard to distinguish between poor and poorer," Lund says. "In both the Smart and Fit, occupants would be subject to high injury risk in crashes with heavier cars." In contrast, the C class held up well, with little to no intrusion into the occupant compartment. Nearly all measures of injury likelihood were in the good range."

So you're saying intrusion is not the only factor to consider, yes?

 

[JEBar]

by legal classification an Elio is a motorcycle ... I tend to believe that it will prove to be the safest motorcycle on the market .... for now, they are dedicated to getting it built and on the road .... for future models there is no telling how long the options list will be ..... if there turns out to be a significant market any option I tend to believe EM will eventually offer it as an OEM item or it will be available in the aftermarket

 

[Jeff Miller]

It seems that engineers have structurally designed the Elio to protect passengers very well. However, the laws of physics cannot be beaten. If a small car hits a large car, the passengers in the small car are more likely to be hurt or killed than the passengers in the large car.

Given this fact, it seems that the Elio should have an option for a forward collision warning system that can automatically apply the brakes if needed. A system like this could also be used to add adaptive cruise control to the car.

Even low-cost cars like the Honda Civic have an option for this type of system. In five years, I am sure that it will be a standard feature on almost all new cars. While I would like to buy an Elio, I think I will hold out until more advanced active safety systems are added.

That low cost honda civic is still 3x what the elio costs.

As for a forward collision detection, I'd suggest we wouldn't need such things if people would pay attention to their driving and watch where they are going.

In my opinion all of the safety devices auto manufacturers are putting on vehicles are actually making driving less safe. A case in point is the tesla driver that crashed into a stationary vehicle. The driver had grown used to the tesla adjusting distances for him and ultimately grew complacent. As he was following another car and that car switched lanes to avoid the stalled vehicle the driver didn't react. The tesla reacted poorly and actually accelerated into the stalled vehicle. BTW: Tesla warned that the vehicle may not react well in such situations. In the end, the driver admitted that he put too much faith in the car to drive for him.

I remain concerned that adaptive cruise controls, braking systems, and even backup cameras are creating lazy drivers so dependent on technology that they are more dangerous than ever.

 

[WilliamH]

That low cost honda civic is still 3x what the elio costs.

As for a forward collision detection, I'd suggest we wouldn't need such things if people would pay attention to their driving and watch where they are going.

In my opinion all of the safety devices auto manufacturers are putting on vehicles are actually making driving less safe. A case in point is the tesla driver that crashed into a stationary vehicle. The driver had grown used to the tesla adjusting distances for him and ultimately grew complacent. As he was following another car and that car switched lanes to avoid the stalled vehicle the driver didn't react. The tesla reacted poorly and actually accelerated into the stalled vehicle. BTW: Tesla warned that the vehicle may not react well in such situations. In the end, the driver admitted that he put too much faith in the car to drive for him.

I remain concerned that adaptive cruise controls, braking systems, and even backup cameras are creating lazy drivers so dependent on technology that they are more dangerous than ever.

I keep thinking that these people who want all of these "safety" features have spent too much time watching Demolition Man. I wonder when they will demand that autos be equipped with "Secure Foam"?
Maybe they should put away their smart phones and pay attention to their driving?!?

 

[Gas-Powered Awesome]

Given this fact, it seems that the Elio should have an option for a forward collision warning system that can automatically apply the brakes if needed. A system like this could also be used to add adaptive cruise control to the car.

A forward collision warning system is an expensive technological band-aid for the problem of inattentive drivers. It would only be useful in a narrow set of circumstances and would not reduce the effects of impact when the Elio is not the moving vehicle or the impact is from the sides or rear.

Adding such systems is outside the scope of the Elio project. Scope-creep is the destroyer of many, many useful projects.

 

[skygazer6033]

Basically with all these new electronic safety systems cars are designed to be operated by people who can't drive. Concentrating on driving when you're driving is the best safety system there is. I suggest a system using a large dog and a food bowl. The driver feeds the dog, the dog bites the driver anytime he or she reaches for their cell phone.

 

[Injunjoe]

Now you got me going. I once wrote to my congressmen and senators about highway safety. I encouraged them to save lives by adopting the same laws as Germany for the American autobahns. You see, Germany (I lived there in 1991-93) statistically has 3/4 the fatalities per capita per mile driven as the US. I believe the reason is that trucks are limited to 60mph/100kmh while cars have mostly no speed limit. Cars rarely are in accidents with trucks. Know what response I got? Zilch. Cannot slow down commerce even if it means saving lives. Your safety only matters if money can be made by manufacturers, shippers, or most important, insurance companies.