[sn41]

E-Rickshaws are very unstable, and they are overloaded on North Indian roads, with people sitting even in the shared driver's seat, increasing the lopsided tilt. A distant relative of mine was killed when the e-rickshaw in which he was riding overturned and crushed him. They are easy to tip over, for example, when going over a pothole filled with water after rains. Traditional rickshaws have a wider base, and lower center of gravity. I think this particular design, popular all over north of India, is deadly. A safer design must be enforced.

[alephnerd]

> A safer design must be enforced

They won't. Bajaj Automotive lobbied for this as a Hail Mary to save them after Egypt, Thailand, and other markets began the process of phasing out 3 wheelers, and all political parties agree that it helps undercut the goondagiri Auto Rickshaw unions (eg. Maharashtra's CM Eknath Shinde started his career as an auto rickshaw goonda)

[pbmonster]

> I think this particular design, popular all over north of India, is deadly.

Do you have any insight as to why this is? Why are e-rickshaws more dangerous than ICE auto rickshaws or bicycle rickshaws? Shouldn't they be inherently more stable than both of those if you put the heavy battery in the floor?

> They are easy to tip over, for example, when going over a pothole filled with water after rains.

Do you know why they don't they use larger front wheels from off-road motorcycles (or bike wheels like the traditional bicycle rickshaws)?

[sn41]

I think they are too tall for the wheelbase. The design is narrower than traditional auto-rickshaws. I think one of the issues is I think that the battery is not heavy enough to stabilize the center of gravity once you start tipping over - instead of stabilizing, it probably makes it tip over faster.

I am not talking about crash testing or anything that sophisticated. Something as basic as the tendency to overturn is much higher. I have seen one happen right beside me, when one of the wheels went into a pothole, and the rickshaw tilted and overturned. A traditional auto (the standard Bajaj model ICE, for example) would have "jumped", but not overturned.

On this same note, the Bajaj ICE is slightly narrower at the top than the base, in a tapered design - this will increase stability.

Piaggio Ape is tapered towards the top and has backwheels turned inwards -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaggio_Ape#/media/File:Ape_Ca...

e-rickshaws show none of these features.

[alephnerd]

> Why are e-rickshaws more dangerous than ICE auto rickshaws or bicycle rickshaws

E-rickshaws need to keep costs down.

This is because there are a lot of benefits of buying an auto rickshaw (eg. Union membership, not getting beat up with a tire iron, less bribes, access to parking). And the prices are already at $2.5-3k.

This means most e-rickshaws need to be priced at $500-1.5k to be cost effective.

This means these e-rickshaws are macgyverred in local factories using lead acid batteries, weaker frames, low speeds, etc.

[Tagbert]

Why would an E-Rickshaw have a higher center of gravity. EVs typically have a lower center of gravity than ICEVs as the battery usually sits lower in the chassis. Did the makers do something odd like mount the battery higher?

[alephnerd]

Here's how your average e-rickshaw in India looks - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVqwUlN8YsM

Most are using a low range lead acid battery you'd use for a gokart

They're death traps