New Wider Cars Are More Dangerous
Friday, 18. June 2010
Cars are getting wider and the question is being asked why? Are the manufacturers on a mission to increase replacement door mirrors after they are pretty much smashed to pieces after being clipped by an oncoming car, in ever tighter roads carrying bus lanes and cycle lanes? It certainly seems that way. Or is there another reason? No one seems to know, it is either a bit of subterfuge as I’ve suggested or are they all sheepishly following each other. The new Astra is 77mm broader than the last model, the Golf is 110mm fatter and the BMW 3 Series is 192mm wider than its previous design. In fact the Polo is now virtually the same size as an early Golf. As cars get wider more accidents are occurring through side swipes and there are increased car park dinks as our bulging populace squeeze out of cars after having to park in a space that is only just wide enough to fit the car in let alone open the doors. Something needs to be done, at least make all door mirrors folding and simply narrow the cars by a couple of inches, I’m sure no-one would miss the width. Or would they? It might be worth checking the width of your new car before buying it if you had a previous model that just fitted into your aging garage, you may find the new model doesn’t fit. By Graham Hill
