Light Quadricycles: What are they and are they safe?

Aixam Coupe S

Since 19 January 2013, pan-European legislation means that people who pass the theory and practical elements of the UK's Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) are not only eligible to ride a moped, but also drive a class AM 'light quadricycle', such as the Aixam Coupe S or Renault Twizy.  These vehicles are restricted to a 28 mph top speed and 350 kg weight, but it basically means that a 16-year-old is able to drive one.

Renault Twizy

The benefits over a scooter may seem obvious: you have a roof and four walls around you so you don't get wet and you can't fall off it, so it is not surprising that, despite the £10,000 price tag, there are already around 300,000 of these vehicles, on the roads across Europe.  But, are they safe?  Road safety professionals have certainly expressed some concerns.

Aixam claim to be 'No.1 in safety for licence-free vehicles', citing their rigid safety cell, flexible body panels and ABS as key features.  The Renault Twizy even boasts a driver's airbag!  Yes, in a crash with a stationary object at less than 28 mph I'm sure they would perform reasonably, and I don't doubt that they offer better protection than their two-wheel counterparts.  But, I do have three concerns:

Firstly, by putting the 'rider' in a box, with four wheels instead of two, the radio blaring away, and phone easily accessible, will they have the same risk awareness as they would being exposed to the road environment on a moped?  As such, rather than the high volume of low-severity accidents we currently see for 16-17-year-old moped riders, will there be fewer, but more serious light quadricycle ones?  The stats, from France, that Aixam quote as an example of the safety benefits actually demonstrate this perfectly as the proportion of deaths compared to all injuries is far higher for quadricycles (7%) than it is for mopeds (2%) or motorcycles (5%).  Yes, the numbers for quadricycles are small, but it is a trend that will need monitoring as these vehicles become more popular.

CATEGORIES	INJURIES	DEATHS	TOTAL
Bicycles	4 379	162	4 541
Mopeds	13 434	299	13 733
Motorcycles	16 414	888	17 302
Automobiles	39 461	2 160	41 621
Quadricycles	290	21	311
Others	4 453	247	4 700
Total Victims	78 431	3 777	82 208

Secondly, as the lightest 'car' on the road, if these vehicles are in collision with a bigger, heavier vehicle, i.e. any other vehicle, they are going to come off far worse.  The video below shows this principle in action, with the smaller, lighter Fiat 500 (NCAP 5*) coming off far worse than the larger Audi Q7 (NCAP 4*) and far worse than in its own crash test.  Remember, the Fiat has a full frontal crash structure which the light quadricycles do not.

Finally, de-restricting of mopeds is commonplace among the young people I have worked with and I would expect similar practices to be developed for these vehicles.  Last year one of the mopeds we tested was found to be capable of over 60 mph - if people can get the same performance out of one of these quadricycles I would certainly be very concerned.

All in all, I have to say I can certainly see the appeal of these vehicles, particularly to parents of 16-year-olds who would rather they didn't go out on two-wheels, but I still can't see how these are going to end up being any safer overall?