Pedal power beats traffic cops

Traffic police in Toronto, Canada booked Trevor Baldwin for driving an unsafe vehicle.
However, when it came to court Baldwin argued that his car could not be unsafe as it has no engine or gearbox. The Buick is powered by pedals, like a child's pedal car, and has a top speed of just 15km/h when all four occupants are powering it. After the Crown prosecutor tried to make his case, the court started to laugh and the case was dismissed. Baldwin's lawyer said: "Where was the evidence the car was illegal?" After the case was thrown out, Baldwin said: "I think it's a nice day, so I might just go for a drive." The car was built by artist Michel de Broin and is called a shared propulsion vehicle. It was built to make a statement about the fuel consumption of cars in Canada and has no engine, transmission or electrics. The headlights are candles and there are only handbrakes to slow the car.

Source (http://ca.autos.yahoo.com/p/526/pedal-power-beats-traffic-cops%22)




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Fucking retarded, I say its unsafe because of the fucking speed. If the cockbite wants to pedal, ride a fucking bike. Not to mention the fact that it doesn't have real headlights. Douchebag.

The cop had no sense of humor. If it would have had a license plate, it probably would not have been stopped. I have seen worse. I saw a Buick Regal that had obviously smacked something, folded the hood almost to the point that the driver could not see over it, and the thing was still driving. Saw an Escort that someone crushed the windshield with some thing heavy, big dent in the glass it should not have been on the street at all. If the price of gas keeps going up, we could all be driving one of these.

Fucking retarded, I say its unsafe because of the fucking speed. If the cockbite wants to pedal, ride a fucking bike. Not to mention the fact that it doesn't have real headlights. Douchebag.

as a biker, I do see your point, but if I could arrive at work protected from the weather and other a-holes by all that steel, I might consider something like that--BTW, we don't wear those freaky clothes 'cause we think they are cool, they just work the best for cycling--same with the colors--we are trying to scream, 'HEY. PLEASE DON'T KILL ME WITH YOUR 1 TON PROJECTILE!!!'

First off I think the candles as headlights is the killshot to any seriousness that either side wants to make with this case. What is he doing - trying to protest the dawn of the industrial age or something?

I'll bet Fred Flintstone never knew he was driving a vehicle that didn't meet code. But then again he didn’t try to drive to the quarry in 2008, did he?

And I agree with Jantheman - there are more and more cars these days that look more like compacted cars(!) than compact cars because the economy is in the toilet. Period.

^^Thanks NJ. Wait until we see the GEM electric city cars. 25mph will seem like the sound barrier. No gas, no pollution, no speed, seems unAmerican. One day no fuel will be very American, mark my words. Fuel eating vehicles will go the way of the dinosaurs. They are fun, they are great, but they pollute and they are not really practical. Plus, they are not real dependable. Ever see one of those little fast n furious car with its hood up. Yeah, it went fast for a while, now it runs like shit and the owner has not a clue.

one word : AWESOME !! :ynose:

Wait until we see the GEM electric city cars. 25mph will seem like the sound barrier. No gas, no pollution, no speed, seems unAmerican.

Damn skippy it's Un-American! I'll sacrifice 8 cylinders for 4, but until I can pull into Shell, or BP, or Phillips 66, or wherever and get either an instant battery charge, or a hydrogen fill-up, it isn't going to happen. The oil barrons rule this country. They are the elite. Do they want to see us running cars on Hydrogen, or Brown's gas? Hell no. They might let us have electric cars, because a lot of the power generators in this country still run on coal and other fossil fuels (especially in China). But, if you look at the power structure in the U.S., it seems the banks (especially federal reserve banks) are the uber-elite followed closely by the oil barrons. Bush is an oil man, Cheney worked at Haliburton, the list goes on forever.

So in short, While the government keeps telling the car companies to make fuel efficient cars on one hand, they raise the price (often artificially) of oil, so they keep making money. Money = Power, Power = More Money. It won't end until fossil fuels are at critical levels, and to hell with the atmosphere.