Slashdot Mirror
Student Killed Driving Solar Car
Lev13than writes "Tragedy struck the University of Toronto's Blue Sky Solar Racing Team on Thursday when 21-year old student Andrew Frow was killed in a car accident. It appears that Frow lost control of the low-riding experimental car and was struck by a minivan head-on. The team was driving from Stratford to Waterloo (about an hour west of Toronto) as part of a tour of universities in Ontario and Quebec to mark the one-year anniversary of the 2003 Blackout. This is a big setback for solar power advocates, especially as the blackout anniversary will pass with remedial legislation stranded in Congress. More information on the accident is available here." The vehicle's design is not really street-safe - this will be a problem as more efficient, lighter cars share the road with Hummers.
I am good friends with some of the designers of that car. Hell... I even helped carry the solar panels into the conference building in Scarbrough in January where I met them. It is truly tragic, and my heart goes out to them. That is the problem with this kind of tragedy... this car was designed for racing and not highway travel competing for road space with Cadillacs.
Rest in peace Andrew, and keep them strong Raja.
while(1) { fork(); };
I remember hearing or seeing something about moving the bumpers on SUVs and trucks lower so that if the impact with a regular car, the bumper will impact where the structure of the car was built to take an impact. I think a lot of the problems arise when the SUV is impacting where the car was not designed to withstand an impact, like above the door frame. Of course this probably wouldn't have made a difference in this case, but something that should be considered regardless.
"... Frankly that car was not street legal, it shouldn't have been allowed on the highway ..."
Except by not allowing them on the highway you remove the possibility of long distance endurance type competition. These races are important because they present challenges you won't necessarily have on a closed course - like construction, road conditions, inclement weather, and oncoming traffic...
But of course, if you have glaucoma, a Stroke, resperatory problems, and are a 5'1" old lady that can't see over the dash, you can leagaly drive a RV the same size as a semi, without all those inspections and special licensing and training. And a semi is articulated (axis point in the middle) so it can turn easier than an RV. I always feel safe around truck drivers. Its the old folks driving the Huge RV's that scare the Shit out of me!!
What are we going to do tonight Brain?
I've been a long time slashdot reader, but this is the first time that I've actually taken the time to create an account so that I could post something. I'm going on 3 years as the Electrical Manager for the McGill University Solar Car project. I actually met with a representative from the Toronto project not even one week ago about this tour. Our car was on the tour, but was not actually driving, because we weren't ready to go. I have to say that this post is one of the most disrespectful things I've read. Teams pour their hearts and souls into their cars. If U of T is anything like us, they spent countless hours trying to find sponors to build parts to save grams and milliwatts to give their car even the smallest edge. Do you have any concept of how expensive it is to make composite (carbon fiber monoque) cars? Our car has a value, not including the 3 years of manufacturing labor of about $750,000. These cars are designed to be as light and power-efficient as technology will allow. Our car is only strong where it needs to be, and it is *just* strong enough. Just saying that "the design was bad" really makes me mad. Do you have any idea? How could you possibly make that judgement? That comment was not insightful, it was plain ignorant.
such a thing happened here last week a Giant SUV ran a red light and was T-boned by another smaller SUV that had the right of way and was travelling at 55mph.
the occupants of the giant SUV all died.
Small light solar car or giant SUV... an accident at 55mph is usually pretty darn violent.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
I know this is a little off-topic, but the poster mentions sharing the road with Hummers. I find it amazing that the impact points of cars, all the way around the vehicle, are not of standard height. What's the point of bumpers if they are going underneath the car on impact? Yes, I realize that off-road vehicles need higher clearance and need to use public roads to get offroad, but we see the results of non-standard bumper heights everyday, including here.
Also, the summary writer was political trolling. There was no SUV involved, a "minivan" is hardly an SUV. And striking any lightweight, cheap car at highway speeds would have ripped through this solar "car" and likely killed the driver.
And about the car. The specs seem to have been pulled from the site, but the Internet Wayback Machine pulled this page: http://web.archive.org/web/20040214072418/www.blu
"Chassis: Composed of hollow aluminium tubes with sides only slightly thicker than a pop can." They're bragging about this? And running it on a highway?
A little premature, I think.
Get off my lawn.
We also have 6 inch cocks.
I know this sounds like a troll, but I have a valid point.
People who drive large cars with the ability to control large cars usually are not the problem. The problem are people who drive large cars and lack either the ability or the personality to control such a large vehicle are the problem.
In NSW, Australia, you can do your driving test on a 2 door 800c automatic suzuki, then go and jump behind the wheel of a hummer. Sorry, but that's just crazy. (I believe this is now under review, but its been under review for at least the last 20 years) Pilots have to retrain for each new model aircraft they manage, and similary there needs to be classes of vehicles based on transmission type, weight and size. Vans capable of carrying 10 passengers, even if not for commercial gain, should require testing. I get scared when I see a Mother with 10 kids (presumably not all her own) crawling unbelted around the car while she screams abuse at other drivers for every near-collision she's causing.
The other is a physcological test. If "big car" is a compensation for "small dick". Yeah, rice rockets are a pain in the arse, but when the choice is between contending with 1 tonne of dickhead propelled missile and 4 tonnes of dickhead propelled missile, give me the mag-wheeled Mirage anyday.
I'd also argue that people under 4'6" shouldn't be allowed to drive some of these big SUVs unless they are suitably modified. In jacking up the seat to see out the window means that they can't depress the brake in reflex time. That's just crazy. (Anybody who's driven between Turramurra and Gordon in the North of Sydney knows exactly the types I'm talking about). If little kids have to be over a height to ride a roller coster, people should have to be over a height limit to drive some vehicles. This isn't discrimination. Its public safety.
(Note: I am pretty short myself. I can't ride any model Harley except the FatBoy because my feet aren't close enough to the ground!)
I also agree that Hummers and their like shouldn't be allowed on certain roads. Note that some of the south-bound lanes on the Sydney Harbour Bridge aren't wide enough for the wheel-base of the Holden (Chevy) Suburban. The infrastructure of the city was never designed to cope with this sort of vehicle.
Norman Cook's Ode to Sl