Are cars secure for those older than 16?
One day, as I was walking back from the newsroom, I came across a peculiarly juvenile scene: a young man, who couldn’t have been older than 16 years old, was attempting to woo a young lady with his brand new Aixam.
The young lady was not taken in by his boasting and asked him whether or not the item was risk-free.
The young lady, much like I was during that period, was unaware of the existence of that brand, and in the end, despite the ardent pursuit of the eager young suitor, she decided to walk home.
Back in my day, we rode our mopeds everywhere and felt like kings of the world while doing it.
However, times have changed, and more striplings are becoming bold enough to ask for a car.
Now, taking into consideration the fact that the majority of accidents are caused by young people and the fact that minors still have, it is assumed, less awareness of the real dangers of the world, it is reasonable to wonder whether or not these vehicles are safe.
I was going to say head, but awareness is a better word.
My attention will primarily be directed toward children, but the safety issues discussed also apply to adults.
Despite this, adults would be better off getting their B license and purchasing a more affordable vehicle because the Aixam costs more than 10,000 dollars.
In contrast, they could buy a brand-new Dacia Sandero for the same amount of money.
Light quadricycles that individuals can drive under the age of 18: evaluation criteria
Before we get started, let’s define what we mean by “light quadricycles.” Light quadricycles are four-wheeled vehicles with an unladen mass of less than 350 kg.
This does not include the battery group in the case of electric cars.
These vehicles can’t achieve speeds higher than 45 kilometers per hour at any point during construction.
For combustion engines, the displacement must be less than or equal to 50 ccs, and the maximum net power must be less than or equal to 4 K.W. for all other types of engines.
1. Requirements
The first thing that pops into my head is this: what qualifications are essential to have to operate one of these quadricycles?
The first prerequisite is that you must be at least 15 years old. Then you will need to get your moped license, known as an AM license.
The rise in these cars on the roads has resulted in the displacement of 50cc mopeds.
Simply submitting an application to the D.G.T., having an I.D. card, submitting a photo for your license, passing a psycho-technical exam, paying the fee, and passing both a theoretical and practical test are all required to obtain an AM license.
During my time as a student, even the most unmotivated individuals could obtain their AM license, indicating that it is not challenging for anyone.
On the other hand, Moped riders are acutely aware of the opportunities and limitations presented by their mode of transportation, which is one of the key differences between the two types of vehicles.
With a car, the driver, who, let’s not forget, will be a teenager, may be more inclined to believe he is driving an average car, and the shell of the quadricycle will force him to have a false sense of security.
This is in contrast to the situation with the quadricycle, in which the driver will be likelier to believe he is driving an average car.
2. Out on the open road
It is against the law to ride quads on freeways or dual carriageways.
They are required to ride on the shoulder of the road if one is wide enough and passable, but if there isn’t one, they have to depend on the right side.
Their drivers are responsible for taking into consideration not only themselves but also other users on the road, including pedestrians, tractors, mopeds, and so on.
In a nutshell, the mere fact that they have the appearance of automobiles does not confer any additional privileges upon them. It is vitally important that the driver is made aware of this fact.
However, being compared to a tractor is undoubtedly hurtful and even more painful when you are only 16 years old.
Additionally, motorists on interurban roads are going to look at you with the same disgust that they look at cyclists. This results in nerves and increases the likelihood of having an accident. This topic will be revisited at a later time.
3. Assurance
In this regard, there is no distinction between anyone and anyone else because every motor vehicle owner must purchase compulsory civil liability insurance for each vehicle he owns.
This type of insurance is more commonly referred to as “compulsory insurance” (S.O.A.).
This insurance covers, up to a specific limit, civil liability for damage caused to other people or their property as a result of an accident that occurred while the insured vehicle was in motion.
Unless there was malicious intent on the part of the tortfeasor, it includes coverage for damage to persons and property caused to the injured parties by traffic incidents.
Therefore, there is a guarantee that somebody will be able to take responsibility for the issues that have arisen due to the accident, providing peace of mind.
We say this even though every driver is required to have insurance because, in the case of a teenager, who is responsible for paying for the insurance? Some may pay for it themselves, while others rely on their parents, but it’s impossible to know that everyone can afford the insurance.
4. Changes to the text
Technical vehicle inspection (ITV) is something quads and all other vehicles are required to pass.
Every two years after the fourth year of age, after which there is a four-year exemption period.
On the vehicle’s ITV card, the inspection results will be noted once they have been determined.
If the inspection result is not favorable, the owner of the light quadricycle is given a period of time to correct the observed defects.
During this time, the vehicle is ineligible to circulate on public roads except for transferring to the workshop and returning to the ITV.
Following the completion of these necessary repairs, the automobile will be re-examined in its entirety.
The fortunate circumstance is that if you buy a vehicle when you are 16, you will not be required to pass the ITV until you are 20.
By that time, you will be more aware of the risks associated with driving on the road.
In this sense, the D.G.T. system ensures that the aspects of the driving environment external to the driver are adequately covered.
2016 will go down as a watershed year
On the day of the 2016 EuroNCAP test, many vehicle models arrived with their preparations completed.
There was a growing realization among the companies that their customers would give a lot of weight to this matter; consequently, none of them wanted to look foolish in front of their customers.
In addition, most of them complied so that the distinctions between them were, for the most part, negligible.
It was the turn of the youngest member of the family, who had been practicing since 2014, to show compassion.
And in 2016, they returned to show their pity because out of the four models that were evaluated; all four failed in terms of safety.
The Aixam Crossover G.T.R. (scoring one out of five), the Bajaj Qute (scoring one out of five), the Microcar M.GO Family (scoring one out of five), and the Chatenet CH30 were the unlucky ones (2 out of 5). A total disaster.
Those in charge of preparing the examination produced a report recommending improving the safety structures, which had been given ratings of severe and deficient.
Because the EuroNCAP test is no longer administered to quadricycles, this is where everything comes to an end.
To determine whether or not they are safe, we require brand-new tests that can be relied upon. In this regard, there is no escaping the answer “no.”
In a severe collision, the driver and any passengers in the vehicle are put up for auction.
There is an extremely high likelihood of suffering severe repercussions due to this.
Even though the Aixam brand asserts otherwise, as we will see in the following section.
Aixam: the brand that stands as a benchmark
Regarding quadricycles, Aixam is the brand of choice in approximately 50% of the world.
They construct their marketing strategy around the notion that they are the only brand that can credibly be associated with this vehicle category.
From this vantage point, their safety is their Achilles’ heel, so they need more data to defend themselves against objective data.
Even so, there is no mention of safety anywhere on the homepage of their website; instead, we have to look for the information in the search engine.
They tell us that every AIXAM model must pass the European Union’s crash test to receive the Crash Test certificate.
Since 1988, AIXAM has put every model it has ever produced through rigorous crash testing, even though doing so is not mandated by any legislation at the time.
This has been done solely to make the vehicles’ occupants safer.
We have already seen that this is not the case because the people working for EuroNCAP were quite concerned with quadricycles, one of which was AIXAM.
This was the case because we had already seen it.
In the comprehensive review of the safety features, we found that they have, among other things, a front glass that offers an excellent field of vision, a front glass defogging system that is both quick and effective, a third brake light that is designed to be more visible, L.E.D. daytime running lights, halogen optics, braking distribution valves, and activation systems that issue “warnings” in the event of sudden braking, among other things.
When it comes to passive safety, they have a chassis built to absorb the impact by distributing the force between various points of the chassis, thereby reducing the effect of the same. This is done to prevent the chassis from being damaged.
In addition to that, they have the A.B.S. system.
According to a report published in 2019 by Sécurité Routière, the category of light vehicles that includes quadricycles has the lowest accident rate at 0.38%.
This information was provided to us by the company.
Many talks won’t amount to anything if additional EuroNCAP tests can’t be applied to these vehicles.
It is their Achilles’ heel, and prospective users need to be provided with additional information about it.
The fact that the driver was at fault for the accident is not the primary concern because the potential for injury is low, given the vehicle’s top speed limit of 45 kilometers per hour.
The issue will arise if a vehicle with a greater mass than his is involved in a collision with him or rams him.
Then we will be forced to lament that either our driver or passengers sustained severe injuries.
In a nutshell: is driving a car without a license dangerous?
We first learned that it is impossible to stop our young people from desiring a car due to the hormonal influences that come with being young.
The proliferation of quadricycles throughout our cities is unavoidable, as even the most casual observer can see on the horizon.
The second realization that can be drawn from this is that they do not present an exceptionally high risk.
Because even if they had excellent safety measures (which we have not been able to ensure that they do), they still could not function properly if they come into contact with a component that is either too difficult or too heavy.
They will be destroyed in an explosion if they come into contact with a large vehicle.
However, in contrast to motorcycles and mopeds, which account for an unacceptable number of fatalities and serious injuries annually, it would appear that quadricycles are less likely to be involved in collisions.
Because the chassis is separate from your body, you can take fewer risks, which is one of the reasons.
The second reason is that it places a moral obligation on teenagers to be more responsible, which is difficult for them to perform at this age.
This is the argument that can be made in support of quadricycles.
To summarize, quadricycles are preferable to mopeds so long as the driving is done in urban areas or, at the very most, on short journeys between towns.
This is because quadricycles have four wheels instead of two. It is not a good idea to drive on roads with a lot of cars, and you should always follow the recommendations that the D.G.T. gives you.
We anticipate that the level of safety offered by these automobiles will improve in the future.
And we will witness an even more incredible explosion of AIXAMs and other similar vehicles, with some B drivers even choosing to purchase one.
¿Did you like the content?
