Initial Position
In today's world we are surrounded by transportation modes, which transport us or objects of any kind from place to place. These engines have been playing an important role in their development because they save enormous human and animal muscle effort. But in certain contexts, non-motorized vehicles (non-motorized vehicles, NMVs) are more advantageous. For cost and efficiency reasons, entire populations have long reach back to this means of transport available which independence of operating costs and the absence of waste gases evolved over time to an ever-increasing benefit. In Kenya, introduced in 2000, the non-motorized transport, including walking consisted of more than 45 percent of transportation in urban centers.
In Nairobi, many people cannot afford an own car, so they resort to non-motorized vehicles, which require neither fuel nor complex maintenance. Due to the high volume of Mkokoteni (big Handcart) in Nairobi, these vehicles get into dangerous situations that are increased of a number of factors.
Firstly there is the almost exclusive focus of traffic facilities on motorized vehicles, on the other there are huge vulnerabilities of non-motorized vehicles, especially when they operate in these areas. NMVs are threatened by the growing number of motorized vehicles, the loss of space on the street in relation to the dangers of the growing population density and changes in the urban area. The needs of NMVs are overshadowed by motorized vehicles in the road building.
The trend in transport with NMVs is declining. In the next decade, the NMV transport could fall even further due to these circumstances. In the informal economy, especially in slums, NMVs are an indispensable in means of affordability and essentially enabling existence.
Perspective: improvement suggestion example
The observations and interviews with students and traffic participants in Nairobi have shown that drivers of Mkokoteni are confronted with enormous risks. Some of these risks can be traced back to resolvable problems in automotive engineering. The design goal in this context is two-fold: first, the reduction of injuries caused by accidents that the drivers of this type of vehicle are exposed to, and second, the disturbance of other traffic participants should be lowered by increasing the controllability of the vehicle type.
The disadvantages of this type of vehicle can be neutralised by technological transformation and adaption of available solutions. At this point it is conceiveable to get in touch with german patent-holders in order to implement and transfer this know-how to Nairobi. Another possibility would be to reuse component parts from the automotive industry, as this technology is already accessible and available on wasteyards etc. Imaginable improvements can be prioritized in the following order:
- Effectivity of the brakes through alternative braking systems.
- Driverâs seat with impact protection.
- Configuration with acoustical and visual signalling devices.
- Trailing possibility by adaptive trailer coupling devices.
- Use and stroage of driving power in order to decrease manual expenditure of energy in a dynamo-like manner.
- Controlling grips.
Any vehicular modifications must be reviewed and secure against vandalism and theft. This poses an important challenge since the installations must also have a minimal resale value.
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