Road Signs: Behind The Numbers
Behind The Numbers
Edmunds.com points to the past decade’s uptick in traffic deaths involving older drivers as a concern to be addressed at its national safety conference in Washington DC. May 24. Sean Kane disagrees and defends his “auto safety” territory in The Safety Report Blog. It may also keep senior drivers free of unwarranted new regulations. He quotes statistician Randy Whitfield: “Edmunds asked why there are more traffic deaths in 2009 compared to 2000 within the 51-65 age group, while all other age groups have fewer deaths. An answer that does not involve recourse to unmeasured, hypothetical driver attitudes toward safety is that there are so many more drivers in this age group in 2009 than there were in 2000. Conversely, part of the explanation for the reduction in male driver deaths in other age groups is simply that the size of that subpopulation has remained relatively stable.”
248 Miles Per Gallon
Ron Beasley sent along photos and information on this $699 car that allegedly gets 248 miles per gallon.
The car was introduced at a Volkswagen stockholders meeting as the most economical car in the world. It is slated to be released in China next year.
Only a one seater however (a two seater rumored to be not far behind). The body is 3.47 meters long and just 1.25 meters wide, and a little over a meter high. The prototype was made completely of carbon fiber and is not painted to save weight. The power plant is a one cylinder diesel positioned ahead of the rear axle and combined with an automatic shift controlled by a knob in the interior. Safety was not compromised as the impact and roll-over protection is comparable to the GT racing cars.