The Tesla Cybertruck has invaded Europe, and European road safety organizations are wondering about it.
More than a dozen NGOs—including the European Road Safety Council and the International Federation of Pedestrians—recently signed an open letter saying that Elon Musk’s violence poses many threats to European road safety. The book was inspired by the Czech Republic’s recent decision to register one of Tesla’s trucks as a passenger car, thus allowing it to enter the continent. According to the security forces, the owner of the car in question may not have illegally reported the weight of the car as a way to obtain a certificate of legal importation.
Now, road safety advocates seem to feel that a bunch of Teslas like the electric Hummer could mean big trouble for Europeans—and that the cars need to be kicked out of Europe, with a lot of discrimination. “It is our assessment that the authorization and registration of Cybertrucks in the EU poses illegal risks to all other road users,” the letter reads. “If this analysis is accepted, it follows that the small number of Cybertrucks registered so far in the EU need to be deregistered, and the relevant State/Members ensure their removal from public roads.”
Why are safety orgs so concerned about Tesla’s truck? I think it’s because it seems so dangerous. “Cybertruck fails to meet the list of basic European road safety standards applicable to passenger vehicles (M1),” the letter noted. “As shown below, these are from the Cybertruck’s inadequate, or non-existent, crash absorption areas on its sharp edges.”
Another concern about the Cybertruck is its sharp, angular corners, which look like they were built for cyclists. Wired writes that the same driver who imported a Tesla truck into the Czech Republic attempted to circumvent local laws regarding angular vehicle design by attaching small rubber bumpers to the four corners of the vehicle, thus allowing them to technically maneuver through the rules. The groups warned that this change in rubber could lead to “massive imports of Cybertrucks in Europe” and that the Czech Republic “is at risk of becoming a back station for exporting such dangerous vehicles to other member countries.”
Gizmodo contacted Tesla for comment but did not hear back by press time.
When it comes to avoiding harming consumers with sensible government regulations, Europe has been miles ahead of America. Sadly, safety organizations are aware that, even with America’s much-reduced safety standards, the Cybertruck may not be suitable for a safe ride. “Absent or inadequate Cybertruck absorption poses an unacceptably high risk to all other road users,” the letter said. “Due to the self-certification system that operates in the US, the Cybertruck has never been tested by any public authority. Already, there are real doubts if the Cybertruck meets the minimum safety requirements for pedestrians operating in the US.”
Aside from the safety concerns, there has been one fatality reported involving the Cybertruck. A man died in the Houston area in August after the car he was traveling in crashed into a freeway and burst into flames. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the incident this summer.
Source link
