In Da Nang especially, I've noticed a huge increase in the amount of electric scooters around the city. Young Vietnamese girls sport them on the streets, with a maximum speed of 60 and really small size and weight. But the thing that is frustrating me, is that the people that drive them (predominantly women), don't wear helmets. I'm assuming that this is the law, because i have not seen an electric scooter driven by a helmet wearer.
But shouldn't it be the law? Girls weighing 45 kilos zip around on these scooters, who, if hit by another motorbike, would be severely injured. A Vietnamese friend has a "Robo" brand electric scooter, who says she doesn't need a helmet because her bike is electric. She is actually under the belief that because the scooter is electric, that there is no way that she is at risk of accident or injury. I don't really understand this mentality, that the Vietnamese law implies.
Anybody living in Vietnam care to comment on this? Have you noticed an increasing trend of electric bikes in Hanoi?
I'm not talking about tiny electric scooters like these......
I'm talking about full electric scooter bikes, that look just like a petrol fuelled scooter only lighter and slightly smaller.....
Anyway, as the electric scooters wave in and out of traffic, police let them roam the streets with no protection. It's frustrating every time I see an electric scooter.
But it shouldn't be frustrating. They are helping the environment, plus helping themselves by saving money, but I don't think they are helping their individual safety.
Another problem with the scooters is that they are silent. LITERALLY SILENT. No sound whatsoever. They creep up to the side of you and dart out in front of you when you don't even know it. They contribute nothing to neither air pollutino or noise pollution, however, they need to have some sort of sound device to make others aware of their incoming.
Read this article on Japanese hybrid cars:
Source: BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8132548.stm
Japan rethinks silent hybrid cars
Toyota Motor Corp."s assembled new Prius rolls out at the Toyota Tsutsumi Plant in Toyota
Toyota has no plans yet to add noise-making devices to their hybrid cars
Japan is considering the introduction of noise-making devices for near-silent hybrid cars following safety fears from vision-impaired pedestrians.
"Vision-impaired people feel that hybrid vehicles are dangerous", a transport ministry official told AFP.
The top-selling hybrid vehicles run almost without any sound when they change from fuel to battery mode.
The ministry of transport has brought together a panel that will draw up a report by the end of the year.
The panel is considering forcing manufacturers of hybrid cars to introduce a sound-making function that alerts passersby to the presence of a vehicle.
"Blind people depend on sounds when they walk, but there are no engine sounds from hybrid vehicles when running at low speed," the transport ministry official said.
The world's most popular hybrid, the Prius, was launched by Toyota in 1997.
Paul Nolasco, a spokesman for Toyota Motor in Tokyo, told the BBC it had no immediate plans to add noise-making devices to the hybrid vehicles.
"But if it becomes a social concern, it is something we will have to address", Mr Nolasco added.
Read about the North American company that are selling scooters for far more:
Source: CNN News, http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/20/eco.electricscooter/index.html[/u]
Vectrix Electrics is another company that has been developing electric scooters, so far selling only in North America and Europe. While the performance of its scooters is comparable to KLD's, their models sell at a much higher price tag around $11,000. Earlier this month Vectrix reported financial difficulties and has been forced to make staff cuts.
I do actually like electric scooters, I like anything that's good for the environment. But it's increasingly annoying when authorities here don't actually realise what is important when riding one.
Anyway, that's my rant.
I'm off to the football.
Love.
Cat.
35 °C
