The Netherlands is known internationally for its bicycle culture. Now it's also home to another, more broadly accessible form of transportation: the Canta.
For people with disabilities in the country, the compact four-wheeled, two-seat vehicle has become the primary form of micromobility—a term encompassing a range of small, lightweight vehicles typically operating at around 15 miles per hour. The Canta looks a bit like a little Fiat or Mini and has all the main features of a car: engine, drivetrain, roof, windows, and doors. But it is an especially compact one: it is a microcar that measures just over three feet wide, making it narrow enough to be driven in the country's wider bike lanes while also being able to accommodate wheelchairs and other mobility aids.
Designed specifically for people with disabilities, the Canta was created in 1995 by a small Dutch vehicle manufacturer called Waaijenberg Mobility. It operates at speeds typically below 45 kilometers (27.9 miles) per hour and is not allowed on major motorways.
[...] "When we look at non-cars, a vast space of opportunity for mobility solutions becomes possible," says Horace Dediu, an expert on the future of micromobility. "This means not just more efficient and less demanding alternatives for short trips, but also vehicles for those who are too young, too old, or disabled."
Dediu notes that "8 billion people need mobility. Only 1 billion currently can drive." Everyone, he says, "will be served by micromobility."
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Sunday January 01, @04:34PM (3 children)
this might be something for my son: he could learn to drive it, with a licensed passenger, and be safer because of lower speeds....possibly.
It would be nice if there was something small like this with a 'training driver' set of steering wheel/brake option so if he lost control of himself we could take over.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Informative) by inertnet on Sunday January 01, @10:07PM
These tiny cars are also being used by students a lot, which shows who has wealthy parents. And Cantas get stolen a lot for joy rides. Plus they'll probably have a very bad score in crash tests, there's really not a lot of protection.
The "wheel chair drive in" model was a smart thing to make though.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 02, @03:48AM
> he could learn to drive it
If you have a big enough yard, get a go-kart, sometimes called "fun kart" with a small 4-stroke motor and knobby tires (not a racing kart). First, learn to control the kart by making laps around the house. Around here they come up at pretty low prices used. Once car control is mastered, then tackle all the skills needed to deal with the road system and most importantly, all the other road users (cars/cycles/peds, etc).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 03, @03:16AM
Or get GTA V or similar and require your kid to be able to drive, overtake and park safely in that. Also learn how to better handle OTHER drivers doing stupid/crazy stuff (going through red light, mowing down pedestrians). There's no 100% of course if other drivers do crazy stuff but at least you can have a good laugh about it when it's a game. Same for safely handling "what if" scenarios like faulty red lights.
https://youtu.be/IZY7RsMcLUE [youtu.be]
https://youtu.be/rua2CcnQV8U [youtu.be]
(Score: 2) by Rich on Monday January 02, @04:02AM (2 children)
These roofed wheelchairs are neither a new idea (from UK Invacars to Ligiers) nor a convincing one. The only convincing proposition in that format (and electric) would have been the Murray T.27, but that unfortunately didn't enter production. The latest Made-in-China Smart generation is all-electric, but a tad too large and to anemic to be useful. I'm still holding out for something electric in the size and performance envelope of the original Smart 450 (not longer than 2,50m, not slower than 120kph) and with a bit more charge capacity than the sorry 17kWh of the current Smart EQ (say 25-30kWh).
(Score: 2) by turgid on Tuesday January 03, @10:22AM (1 child)
That brings back memories. When I was a teenager they built a new dual carriageway into town and I used to go in on the bus. Often it was an old double-decker that would struggle to achieve 50mph. One afternoon it raced an Invacar [wikipedia.org] in a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse. The bus driver would put his foot down and the rattly old diesel engine (I thought I was going to lose teeth on that ride) would strain as the bus crept past the car. Then, the driver of the car, with a look of intense determination and the steely focus of a fighter pilot would open up the throttle and strain past the bus. Rinse and repeat all the way to town.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by Rich on Tuesday January 03, @12:38PM
Must be something in the English blood. No other country in the world has such a density of motorsport companies as them. I guess if the T.27 would have been built, it would have set performance standards for microcars for a century. (Note to readers: Gordon Murray has designed F1 championship winning race cars and the McLaren F1 road car)