Solar tour cancelled after PV car crashes and driver dies
TORONTO, Ontario, CA, 2004-08-18 (Refocus Weekly)
A 1,700 km tour to promote renewable energy has been cancelled following the crash of a PV-powered car and the death of its student driver.
The three-wheeled Faust II was one of six solar-powered vehicles in the
Canadian Solar Car Tour that were designed by university students involved in
solar races. The teams were driving through Ontario and Quebec, and were on
their way to Toronto to observe the first anniversary of the power blackout in
Ontario and the eastern United States.
Police say 21-year-old Andrew Frow of the University of Toronto veered into the
opposite lane on a highway near Stratford and was struck by a minivan. The top
and bottom halves of the solar car ended up on opposite sides of the road after
the impact. Frow died from serious head injuries; the driver of the minivan was
not injured.
In addition to Toronto, there were solar cars from McGill University, École
Polytechnique de Montréal, École de Technologie Supérieure, McMaster
University and Queen’s University, which had been working since the end of the
2003 solar racing seasons on this tour. Two years ago, an earlier design from
the University of Toronto collided with a car in Belleville, and the driver
received minor injuries.
The ten-day tour were to finish August 21 in Quebec City.
The solar car was cruising at 75 km/h and was capable of speeds of 120 km/h.
Police say solar cars can travel in daylight on provincial highways with a
special permit from the Ministry of Transportation, but are not allowed on
high-speed 400-series roads and must have regular vehicles in front and behind
them with flashing yellow lights on their roofs.
Frow was the mechanical systems expert on the eleven-member Blue Sky Solar
Racing team from the University of Toronto, and his family has urged his
teammates to continue their quest for new energy sources and to keep his dream
alive. “Andrew was passionate about his involvement with this solar car
project and was excited to be taking part in the Solar Car Tour,” they said in
a statement.
The University of Waterloo was not a participant in the event because it started
a 40-day tour of North America, just two days before the six-team tour had
started. The Midnight Sun VII was designed and built by students in largest
student-run project at Waterloo to participate in the American Solar Challenge
and World Solar Challenge.
The car will drive across Canada to Vancouver, south to California, east to
Florida, and north to Newfoundland before returning to Waterloo after travelling
9,279 km in Canada and 10,057 km in the U.S. The drive will qualify the team for
the Guinness record for the longest trip by a solar car.
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